The Revolution Trilogy: The Last Vyagons
by TripWire- dono
Summary: 1:Hitsugaya was forced into a marriage for a military purpose and he absolutely hates his new fiance. But later has his eyes set on another and he will do everything to get her... whether she likes it or not! But, an unknown force brews in SS... HitsuSaku
1. Him and Her

**Well, I wrote a whole new story with a better storyline and better sentence structures this time. So I am here by DISCONTINUING 'ONE LAST CHANCE IN SEIREITEI' since in my opinion, it sucks bad…**

**And the lemon was a little amateur I scrapped it. But this is, I promise, better because I surveyed the storyline with my school friends and teachers. (About 3 year 12 students read my work before and remember my penname XD) *squeal* so here it is. Lemon will probably be in later chapters.**

"Speech"

'Thought or talking to Zanpakutou. Depends on the context'

'**Zanpakutou talking'**

**-----**

**Chapter 1: Him and her**

How he hated that everyday he heard her shrill voice. Booming around the compounds looking for him in desperate attempts and HE in DESPERATE ATTEMPTS to hide. He screwed hisforehead in frustration and sighed loudly. Why, why, why did it have to be her, the most annoying and irritating thing in the universe.

"Tou- tou!"

Here were go again. Hitsugaya Toushirou fidgeted with the gold band on his finger. No matter how hard he tugged, it never budged from his captive finger. Damn that Kurotsuchi.

His captive, left, ring finger.

A young woman appeared from behind the paper screen doors and skipped happily towards his office desk. She didn't wear the standard shinigami outfit since she wasn't one, but a fancy, violet yukata that accented her features. She had her hair tied up in 2 low pigtails. Her crimson eyes shone brilliantly in the office light.

Oh, how he hated her.

She plopped herself on the desk beside his paperwork stack, totally oblivious to Hitsugaya's extreme annoyance.

"What do you want?" he said in a bland voice, not looking up from his paperwork.

"I want to remind Tou- tou that the wedding is in 2 months that's all" she said in her usually shrill voice.

"Whatever, go away" he responded coldly.

"Awe, don't be like that we're getting married soon" she jumped off the desk and glomped her _fiancé_ around the neck.

"GAH! Get off me woman!" he tugged her off roughly as if she was some disease animal and left her behind the desk. He sidestepped another attempt and she banged her head on the leg of the desk.

"Tou- touuuuuuuu~" she whined.

Hitsugaya stomped out the door, hoping to get some peace and quiet on the other side of Seireitei perhaps. Screw the paperwork, screw that girl.

"Ne taichou, where are you going?"

He turned to see his fukutaichou heading the opposite way, towards their division. "Nothing, just getting some air" he said in a sigh. He rolled his sea- green eyes tiredly.

"It's Ami again right?" she tried to sound not so negative as not to add to the cloud of despair that stuck overhead the 10th captain.

"Hn. Go continue your pile that _I _was working on" he ordered.

"Hehe… so generous taichou…" a sweatdrop appeared on her head. The busty fukutaichou jogged off to carry out the task and hopefully get drunk early. Since he was outside, he thought he should go home instead and enjoy some _real_ food that _he _could make and then hide somewhere. Somewhere his awful fiancé wouldn't find him.

He lived a few streets away where he could get to work early. He owned his own house even though he had his own quarters back in the 10th barracks. But it was more relaxing to sleep somewhere away from the office. He turned the corner and entered the street and walked a bit further.

His two- storey house was quite modest compared to other captain's homes. He preferred something warm and cosy and didn't really like to flaunt anyway. But the building still had an aura of a captain's abode. He entered the house cautious to see if that witch was hiding surprises for him and was glad to see there wasn't any.

"Great, what is she trying to cook now?"

His tired twitching eyes averted to the bags of grocery of god-knows-what, on his marble kitchen bench. He stalked over and pulled out unusual items, glowing or not, and threw them in the bin. If she was thinking of cooking dinner for him tonight, forget it.

Next, he sought through the fridge to find anything that looked remotely edible but to his disappointment, none. He racked his fingers through his silver tresses in frustration and climbed up the stairs. _'Damn Yamamoto, damn wedding, damn Ami!'_

He reached his bedroom and shut the door. He went over to his walk in closet to find something more suitable for sleeping. He took out a pair of standard, dark blue pyjamas and placed them on the bed before he started shedding his attire. Over the years Hitsugaya Toushirou has grown. Taller but still stunted for a 16 year old, hotter and definitely abbs (not that he never had any). This has created a nuisance within the Gotei13.

Rabid fangirls.

Seireitei weekly Magazine labelled him as the 'Most Eligible Bachelor of the Season', until he was shanghaied into a forced marriage by, guess who, the old fart.

Hitsugaya was about to button up when something caught his eye. Bright pink. He turned to the window and saw a pink haired girl jogging outside on the other side of the street. She had it pulled into a short ponytail, which swayed whenever she bounced. She wore tight fitting brown and pink tracksuit pants and a matching jacket. She seems to be listening to her iPod as well. He noticed her eyes were a brilliant shade of green.

Funny, he never saw her in the neighbourhood before. She was definitely attractive though. Perhaps he will see her again. He smirked and continued to button up. He was about to pull the blinds but had an ominous feeling something was giving him the eye.

----------------------------

Today's work was ok that day, Seireitei Academy has changed in so many ways ever since the changing of the staff and the principal also. Grades were up, new classes and definitely no discrimination towards Rukongai teens. Also half the student population were cut due to lack of commitment and other school related crimes. The new principal was a miracle worker. The new staff, more younger and had fresher ideas and style (especially in clothing) For Haruno Sakura, it was great. The school was in for a fresh new era.

She yawned as she pulled on her trackies and jacket before strapping her iPod to her leg. She looked around her house as if looking for something.

"Karupin where are you?" she called. She bent down and made soft kissing noises to lure her pet cat back. It was not there. "Oh whatever, she probably went out"

Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out her mobile phone and started to dial. Her green eyes peeked through the curtains in the lounge to try and find any trace of that cat but failed to succeed.

'_Hello?'_

"Hey! Sherry, can you do me a favour and see if you can find Katsuya and ask him if the Graduation results came in yet? My medical class are dying to find out" she said.

'_Ummm, yeah I'll see what I can do'_

There were a series of thumping noises in the background before a sharp yell of 'HEY YOU! THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE DETENTION?'

"Alright then, treat those kids nicely, bye" Sakura chuckled nervously and finished putting on her chucks. She was always comfortable running in her chucks.

'_Always' _she could just see the evil grin leaking on the other side.

Once the conversation ended, she placed her phone in her back pocket and swiped her keys at the front door and went out. She selected the music she wanted and started to jog out onto the pavement, making sure to keep a look out for Karupin. _'Man, I hope Ketenaka didn't fail that exam! Or he is going to get such a slapping' _

Sakura was so into her train of thought that she didn't notice that it was getting dark fast and that she ran around the block three times non-stop. She then looked around as if she suddenly remembered she had a cat and began looking. She squinted her green eyes around the trees, bush, and fences, everywhere.

"Tsk, I am so giving her tuna instead of salmon next time" she muttered. She pressed her lips into a thin line and started twisting her ponytail before running of to search again. Clearly oblivious to a pair of sea green eyes, quietly observing her.

-----------------------------

It wasn't blinking.

Two big blue eyes.

Upon a hairy face.

Of a cat.

It stared at him like no tomorrow on the roof that sat below his window. He identified it to be a Himalayan cat. It was quiet unnerving to have those piercing eyes focused on you. He stared back with as much vigour; hands still in the middle of buttoning up but soon gave up since he was tired in the first place. Hitsugaya finished and pulled the blinds together, blocking out the cat's stare.

"Tou- tou! Are you home yet? I bought some food to make a romantic dinner for the both of us!" came the voice of his dreaded fiancé.

Hitsugaya growled low in his voice at the invigorating woman. _'Maybe I should hide and pretend I died under the bed' _he thought.

'**You know, she will still find the corpse, led by her 'love' for you'**

'_Yeah, I guess'_

"There you are! Why don't you come down and help me find where I put the groceries" she said.

"Try the bin"

"Oh, Don't say that. Come, come my love" she tugged on Hitsugaya's sleeve, dragging him out of the bedroom. His closed his crystalline eyes since he can't stand Ami any longer.

"Let got woman" he grounded out.

There was a knocking sound coming from downstairs. He snapped his eyes open again and tugged his arm free from her grasp. Ami whipped her hair around seeing what had caused their interruption. Her hair also whipped Hitsugaya's face in the processed.

"I'll get it Tou- tou!" she bounded down the stairs and towards the front door.

He groaned and went to put his dirty uniform into the dirty laundry hamper. _"It better not be that damn wedding planner asking for more money. Scratch that. I hope she DIED" _he cursed silently in his head.

'**Actually it isn't her but it this reiatsu is a little different'**

'_Thanks Hyourinmaru'_

-------------------------------

"Ah hah, there you are" she broke into a smile having spotted her cat on the roof of the house opposite hers. She made her way towards the door and took out her earphones. She rapped on the door and heard thumping from within. _'Probably stacking it on the stairs'_ she mused.

The door opened to meet a very delicate looking young lady. Her eyes were a vibrant shade of red and her lilac hair was tied neatly in two pigtails. Though she looked quiet beautiful, he lips were pursed in a thin line and those eyes looked quiet unwelcoming.

Sakura chose her words carefully. "Um, sorry for bothering you, but my pet cat Karupin is stuck on your roof outside the second window. If you don't mind, can I come in and get her out" Sakura smiled at her showing she didn't mean any harm to whatever she had caused for being there.

Ami stood there for a few seconds thinking whether she should let this person in and came to her decision. "Fine. But be quick. I'm trying to spend a romantic evening with my fiancé" she said in a posh tone.

'**Gee, bitch much?' **

'_Hush Hikari'_

"Thankyou, I'll be quick" Ami let her through and Sakura jogged up the steps, already guessing which room corresponds to the Himalayan cat's location. Once she reached the closed, she knocked politely. Hearing a soft _'Come in'_ she proceeded.

"Excuse me I hope I'm not bothe-"

Her eyes were greeted with the figure of a rather handsome looking guy, shuffling through the papers on his bed. Her eyes were quickly attracted to his snow white hair and slowly traced them down to his sea green eyes. She then took in his whole body, leaving her to imagine what lay below his cotton clothing.

'**That's the girl that was jogging outside before'**

'_Yeah, I kinda figured' _Hitsugaya scoffed at Hyourinmaru. He studied the girl that stood in his doorway, observing him. He had that affect on females anyway. She looked even prettier up close, the way her innocent jade eyes widened in surprise at entering a _captian's_ bedroom. With the captain in it. in his _pyjamas_.

He pulled his lips into a smirk. "You were saying?" he said.

"Huh? OH, yeah, umm, I came to get my cat… outside your window"

Sakura turned her head slightly down, a blush slowly crept upto her face. Hitsugaya put down the documents and went over to the window. He flipped open the blinds and pulled the pane open. He casually leant to the side and gestured with his long fingers. "Go get him"

"Right" Sakura strided over to the window quickly, clearly aware of the captain watching her every move. When she got there, she was about to stick her leg over to get out and retrieve the feline but was stopped by his stuck out arm.

Her brows knitted in confusion at his actions and soon realised his intentions when he scooped her from under her knees and placed his other arm around her back. She blushed again at the contact. She could smell the soft scent of watermelon on him, and_ Lynx,_ which was quiet nice for a guy and irresistible for her. **(A/N: Imagine a guy smelling like watermelons XD). **He placed her over the windowsill and slowly released her letting her feet touch the roof. Once she was balanced enough, he brought the other half of his body back in.

'_Oh my god! Oh my god!_ _Oh my god!_ _Oh my god!_ _ I can't believe that he did that!'_ Sakura screamed at Hikari, her zanpakutou

She spotted Karupin playing with something in the gutter. Sakura swept her tresses aside and bent down carefully and slowly inched her way towards the cat.

Karupin upon hearing the noise immediately froze and turned its head with the staring blue eyes with it. Upon seeing Sakura, it jumped into her arms.

"Thanks" she smiled at Hitsugaya.

"Alright, you got the cat? Now get out" came the voice of Ami who turned up, looking peeved, thinking that Sakura was trying to start something with Toushirou or was talking to him without her permission.

"Uh, ok?" Sakura looked at her apprehensively. Being too awkward to come back into the room with the pissed woman, she opted to jump off the roof and just go home quick.

'_Damn'_ Hitsugaya just watched her briskly walk back to what he assumed her house. _'So she lives opposite huh?' _he thought.

"Don't worry baby, that ugly woman is gone now. She won't annoy you again. Now lets go downstairs and eat the leftovers in the fridge" she batted her eyelashes at him.

"No thanks, I'll rather starve"

"You really need something to eat" she whined.

"You call that food? It's food _poisoning_"

"Huh?" Ami looked clueless "What do you mean?" she said with a dumb look.

He sighed "I shall use simpler words. _Not a chance_" with that he left and hurriedly went down stairs, with his fiancé lagging behind.

---------------------

"Karupin, naughty girl. You shouldn't run off on other people's roofs" Sakura scolded her cat affectionately. She placed the feline on the floor and placed her keys on her kitchen bench. "How did you get up there anyway?" she muttered quietly. She looked at the clock briefly. 6:30pm. She rubbed her hands up and down her sides and skipped to the freezer to prepare dinner. She was already fully developed at an age of 16 and had curves in all the right places and she was kind of proud that her breasts were just the right size. Her friends called her 'The Assassin' since she was such a man- killer (opp. Lady- killer)

"Lean or full of meat Karupin?" she looked over at Karupin from the open freezer. Her only reply was a 'nya' and scuffle. "Full of meat it is" she took out two trays of steak and placed them in the sink.

"I'M HOME!" came the familiar sound of her friend. And also the familiar sound of feet sliding towards the fridge. Sakura shook her head at her friend's daily antics and stood off to the side, hands on hips. That girl still looked the same. Spiky bun, stunted height (like her), bright face and dark brown eyes.

"First of all, Sherry: this isn't your house. And Second: get away from the fridge" She raised her eyebrow at her.

"OH, but you bought me dango anyway. Haha!" Sherry got out and shut the door with her foot and was happily munching away on her favourite treat. "Here's the all the results for your medical class" Sherry passed a large padded envelope to Sakura who putted on the coffee table.

"Tell Katsuya thanks for me"

"Already did. Wow, you look like you ran a mile" she commented.

"Well, I did, and got bitched at too" Sakura sighed and took off her jacket and placed it on the hook. She went over to the hall mirror and fixed her hair. _'Oh my gawd… did he seriously see me like this?'_

"Wanna talk about it Sakura?" Sherry went over and plopped herself onto the couch.

"Well, I went for a jog and looking for Karupin at the same time and found her on the roof of the house opposite"

Sherry whistled long and slow "And you got told off by the girl over there?" Sherry turned around and rested her arms on the backrest of the cream couch looking at Sakura. Obviously she finished her dango.

"Yeah… You know her?" Sakura came back and started opening the packet and prepared the marinate for her steak. Since she knew that Sherry Elric, her alchemist friend would 'slide' in sooner or later, she prepared a second one.

"The one and only Ami, Queen bitch and Hitsugaya obsessed freak. And let you tell you something. She really deserves the title '_Dragon Lady' _"

"Yeah, I didn't know that he lived opposite me. And he didn't seem to be the type to have these girls around calling him her '_fiancé' _"

"You didn't know?" Sherry raised a brow.

"I only just bought this house two days ago and had to go on leave for 3 months" she replied. "Oh, and remind me to thank Naruto, Edward, Kiba, Winry and Kankurou for moving in my stuff for me"

"You didn't say thanks to me" Sherry pouted.

"Thanks"

"Well, here's the thing. Soutaichou has forced Hitsugaya- taichou into a wedding with Ami because he wanted super kids"

Sakura continued to put the stake on the grill "Come again?" she flicked her tongs at Sherry.

"Well you know, he's hoping that the offspring would be prodigies too and have high reiatsu, good looking to get more kids in the future and etc, etc"

"Military purpose huh? Why couldn't that Kurotsuchi- taichou or whatever make some uh… super kids in his dank lab?" Sakura put the plate of steak on the bench with the cutlery already there. Sherry made her way from the couch and pulled out a stool and cut a hunk of meat from the Moroccan spiced steak.

"He wanted it all natural"

"Sound like a health ad" Sakura brought her plate over and sat beside the alchemist

"But not healthy for him and he absolutely hates it. To death" said Sherry.

"I feel sorry for him" Sakura stared to dig in.

"Everyone does" she wiped her mouth with a napkin before once again stabbing more steak. "Also, she is a Vyagon"

"You mean the extinct dragon species that used to live in the West Mountains between the Fujitsu River and Daiken Area?"

"The _almost _extinct species that live in the West Mountains yada, yada, yada and so on" Sherry concluded. "Oh yeah, and Hitsugaya- taichou is also half Vyagon"

"That would explain his dragon kinda look. With his spiky hair and such"

"Yeah and his scary look"

"Now how did you get such high class information for such a lousy school teacher like you?" Sakura smirked at her and chewed her steak delicately.

"I have my sources" she smirked back.

Sakura muttered 'Envy' under her breath and continued eating her steak.

"So tell me more about getting your cat back" Sherry continued the flow of the conversation.

"Well, let's just say I went into the house and met Hitsugaya- taichou and he swept me off my feet" Sakura smiled.

"I was kinda thinking you would say 'took my breath away' or something" said Sherry.

"No really, he did. He swept me off my feet placed me over his window to get to Karupin" Sakura chewed silently. Sherry was now having a tug-o-war with a piece of fat. "And when I said thankyou, that's when _she _came in and told me to get lost" Sakura stood up and placed her dirty plate in the sink.

Sherry was still having a tug-o-war. And the fat was winning.

"You don't have to eat the fat… Sherry. Just let it go" Sakura sighed.

"I'm not gonna have 'A Piece of Fat Beat Sherry Elric at Dinner' written on the staff bulletin" Sakura sighed and drank some iced tea that was already on the bench. She looked up and met the eyes of a very frightened Sherry, in mid- battle with the piece of rubbery fat. Sakura quirked and eyebrow.

"You ok there?" Sakura stared weirdly at her.

Sherry unlatched her mouth from it and straightened herself out really slowly and at the same time keeping the terror stricken look on her face. She was making eye contact with something behind Sakura, she noticed.

"Sakura. Don't. Look. Behind. You" Sherry spoke in broken sentence.

Whenever someone tells you NOT to look back, you always look back. Which was exactly what Sakura did.

She let out a blood curdling scream.

---------------------------

**Dango: sweet dumplings**

**(A/N: in this story, shinigami's can have other clothes too on their day offs aka: pyjamas. And can bring back from the real world, our stuff, like iPods and Guitar Heroes! XD)** **Some credit goes to my sister also for her suggestions.**

**And I'm guessing there houses look a little more modern but the offices not. Only the low paid shinigami's could have the cheaper old style I guess. Well… Kuchiki's got the EXPENSIVE old style MANOR.**

**Hope you enjoyed this one time round. Don't forget to R&R and I'm open to suggestions and constructive- criticisms. Flames welcome 'cause I'll just laugh at YOUR stupid grammar.**

**TripWire- dono**


	2. More is Revealed

**Yes, yes, you would've guessed there was minor FMA cross. But not too much and that the alchemist is an OC. There will be background information on her soon. Hitsugaya's personality is a bit OC, because I'm assuming his attitude would've matured when he's 16 so keep reading! **

**Chapter 2: More is Revealed  
**

_Recap:_

_Sherry unlatched her mouth from it and straightened herself out really slowly and at the same time keeping the terror stricken look on her face. She was making eye contact with something behind Sakura, she noticed._

"_Sakura. Don't. Look. Behind. You" Sherry spoke in broken sentence._

_Whenever someone tells you NOT to look back, you always look back. Which was exactly what Sakura did._

_She let out a blood-curdling scream._

_---------_

Hitsugaya Toushirou sat in his chair thinking whether or not he should take the chance suicide or eating the… stew? He carefully stirred the concoction in his bowl, watching the steam fly up in patterns. Ami was a horrible cook. All she cooked were Vyagon Style cuisines, which were raw meat, raw meat and RAW MEAT! _'Can't she bloody understand that I can't eat this stuff'_ he cursed.

"Honey, you aren't eating. Is it too bland?"

"nghhhh…" he groaned.

"Try the Vyagon seaweed salad I made!" she passed the bowl over to him, but he just knocked it back with the back of his hand.

"Nah, ah"

A sharp scream was heard through the walls of the house, causing Ami to jerk her head towards the front door and Hitsugaya to drop his chopsticks. It sounded like it came from the house opposite. Seeing this as his opportunity to escape, he abruptly stood up and grabbed his Zanpakutou by the cupboard.

"I'm gonna check it out" and with that he shunpoed out the front door, leaving Ami dumbfounded.

He reached his destination and barged through the door of the opposite house, where more screaming and yells of 'NOT THE BLENDER!' were coming from. "What's happen-"

His eyes were greeted with a peculiar sight. Two teenage girls were crouched in a fighting stance on top of a kitchen bench, brandishing kitchen utensils at the threat. The rosette haired one was holding a spatula and a strainer looking very freaked out and the other waving a blender whizzing away.

The threat he was now staring wide eyed at was a SIZE 8 SHOE COCKROACH. "What the fuc-"

"Just get it outta here!" Sakura screamed. The sheer size of it was absolutely mind boggling and slapping it with a broom won't do the job.

The cockroach turned it's head towards the captain and waved it's tentacle like mouth in his direction, like it found dinner. Hitsugaya pulled a _'wtf'_ face and stepped back. He compressed his reiatsu around the bug, forming ice around its body and shattered and dissolved. Never to be seen again.

"Thank goodness! Thank you so much!" Sakura hopped off the bench and stood to the side beside Hitsugaya.

"Now how did THAT get into your house without us knowing!" said Sherry disgustedly.

"What can I do to thank you?" said Sakura appreciatively. Hitsugaya just stood there mulling over the size of the bug. Suddenly the growling of stomach echoed around the house.

The hungry taichou turned his head towards Sakura. "Dinner"

Sakura blinked twice and swept her fringe aside "Sure?" she said awkwardly. She went over to the fridge and stuck her head in it. "Is Tonkatsu and rice ok?" she asked. Hitsugaya stopped surveying the humble house and turned his attention to Sakura.

"That'll be fine"

Sherry was lying on the couch in the foetal position reduced to tears. There were such horrors in the world that are not to be experienced, ever. And having your life threatened by a 500g roach was pretty traumatising. Damn Sakura and her ability to 'snap out of it'.

Hitsugaya sat down at the bench and placed his head in is RIGHT hand. His eye's flicked to wherever Sakura went in the kitchen area. He watched her re- heat the food in the microwave and boil the miso soup. He was so hungry it wasn't funny. The echoing growl ruptured from his stomach once more. Sakura chuckled lightly and made a quick glance at the blushing captain.

He adverted his eyes away and opted to watch Sherry play with that cat from earlier. Looks like she recovered. He heard the tap of a bowl being placed in front of him along with a plate of tonkatsu and miso soup. He muttered a short 'itadakimasu' and immediately dug in.

"My name is Haruno Sakura by the way" Sakura just leaned over the other side and happily watch him eat.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou Captain of the 10th" he replied.

"And I'm Sherry Elric" Sherry introduced. She pulled up a stool and sat beside Hitsugaya. "Excuse us if we aren't bowing, but you look like you don't exactly care at the moment"

"Well, I feel like eating again" Sakura took out some watermelon on a plate from the fridge and placed it on the bench. Upon smelling the sweet scent of watermelon, Hitsugaya looked up from his food and stared at wide-eyed like a little kid. The 16-year-old had a bit of rice stuck on the corner of his mouth.

Sakura took a piece of tissue and wiped it for him. "You're a pretty messy eater aren't you?" he looked away a bit sheepishly.

Sherry snorted. "Don't worry. I know someone who eats messier" she lazily picked up the slice of watermelon with her thumb and forefinger and placed it on her tongue which retreated back into her mouth.

Sakura chewed her piece of fruit quietly as she waited for Hitsugaya to finish so she could place the crockery in the sink. There was a sharp rap at the door that caught the attention of the three people.

"Coming!" Sakura jogged to the front door and opened it.

"Excuse me, is _my_ fiancé here?" Ami asked in her brittle nasal voice. She stuck her head in impatiently hoping to find who she was looking for.

"Actually he's-"

"Tou-tou! There you are!" Ami pushed pass Sakura and flounced into the kitchen area. Hitsugaya looked up and held his bowl of rice away from her as if protecting it.

"Tou- tou, what are you doing here? I've already prepared dinner at my house come on home darling" Ami waited for him.

"No, I'm having dinner here so get lost" Hitsugaya finished his bowl and placed it down in front of him. He glared at Ami.

"So you must be Hitsugaya-taichou's fiancé" said Sherry.

"The one and only" she replied.

"NO! you are not. I never got down on my knee for you anyway" he started picking at the watermelon as if asking permission from Sakura if he could have some. She responded by pushing the plate to him.

"I think you better go home Hitsugaya-taichou. After all you are engage," Sakura said.

"And you have the ring to prove it" said Sherry.

"Oh, this?" he tapped the ring on his left with his thumb "it's only there to remind me that I'm a prisoner" he said grimly.

"Hurry up, real dinner is this way, not the disgusting slop you just ate" Ami was now waiting beside the door, smirking at Sakura.

She was fuming.

"Now listen here! You come into my home and try to drag a guest away AND have the nerve to insult my cooking and STILL have the cheek to smirk like an idiot, I AM SO GONNA-"

"Calm down honey!" Sherry restrained Sakura from grabbing the kitchen knife set.

"Ami. Leave. Now" Hitsugaya stood before her at his full height and glowered down. He did not move a millimetre when she tried to pout at him and his expression remained serious and motionless.

"You better be home by 7:00" she said one last time before she left the door with a slam.

Hitsugaya turned and sighed. "I apologise for her behaviour" he rubbed his temple tiredly.

"Nah uh. I want the apology from her!" Sakura gritted her teeth and muttered curses under her breath. She threw the plates into the sink and wiped down the bench. Sherry wrung out her arms once she released the edgy pinkette.

"And I apologise for _her_ behaviour" she said.

"I don't need you to do that!" Sakura came back from the kitchen and sat on the couch stiffly. Hitsugaya came and sat in the arm chair beside. Sherry just sat beside the pissed off Sakura.

"Out of curiosity" Hitsugaya decided to try a different harmless topic "what division do you belong in?"

"We aren't military Shinigamis. We're teachers at the Seireitei Academy" said Sakura. She sighed and pursed her lips.

"Let it go Sakura. It isn't worth it" Sakura only grumbled in response.

"I see" Hitsugaya replied

"I teach the medical classes and Sherry teaches science" Sakura returned back to normal, but still a little twitchy.

"I teach that one for those who wanna be in Kurotsuchi- taichou's division" Said Sherry.

"You have classes for that?" Hitsugaya blanched.

"Well, things have changed in the Academy since the coming of a new principal and fresh new staff" said Sakura.

Hitsugaya flicked his eyes towards her, mildly interested.

"New courses and classes include: Medical classes, strategy classes, office efficiency courses, exam prep classes and after school activities just to name a few" said Sherry.

"I've never heard such things" Hitsugaya raised a delicate brow.

"Well, it's fairly new" said Sakura.

"So basically all the original staff were sacked by this new principal. Correct?"

"Yeah, we're the new staff"

"And he introduced these new things, right?"

"Yep"

Hitsugaya leant back in his chair and mulled over the information for a bit. There wasn't a captains meeting that said anything about a new principal of the Seireitei Academy and certainly new courses and classes. They would have to be approved by Yamamoto- soutaichou and the other captains and then Central 46. But clearly that hasn't happened because there was no captains' meeting concerning the matter.

He kept this little information in the back of his mind for future use.

Sakura took out her short ponytail and stretched a bit. She loved her stretches. Good for the muscles. Karupin sat by the window staring cautiously at Hitsugaya from behind. Its nose twitched lightly from the dust. Its blue eyes were focused only on him for whatever reason.

"So why are you engaged to her if you hate her so much?" said Sakura. Sherry threw her a _'you don't trust my info?' _look but went unnoticed by her.

"It's a confidential matter" replied Hitsugaya sourly. He hunched his back and turned away from the two girls, frown in place.

"You sure look happy for a husband to be" Sherry bluntly said sarcastically. Sakura nudged her sharply in the ribs, reminding her he's still a captain and should have respect.

"It's alright. I absolutely abhor the idea to be her husband" Hitsugaya snarled.

"It'll make you feel better to talk about it" comforted Sakura.

"Yamamoto- soutaichou wants me to produce… offspring that he will use in battles in the future" Hitsugaya paused to see the reaction of his audience.

Elric seemed to have a pretty smug look on her face and Sakura had a frown.

"That's gross"

"Tell that to him, he's hoping the children will have high reiatsu, and… other qualities" He said carefully.

"Qualities like what?" asked Sakura. She leant forward interested in this 'confidential matter'

"Why the hell am I telling you this anyway!" Hitsugaya got up in a flash and turned away and scratched his head in annoyance.

"Because we are your new friends?" Sherry smiled. Sakura smiled nervously and sweatdropped.

Hitsugaya looked at the smiling clock on the wall. It was 6:45pm. He still had 15minutes before Ami would go hunting for him. As if he would go back. He'll just stay here a little longer then go back to his division to finish up paperwork.

Maybe even enrol Matsumoto into an office efficiency course at the Academy, if that was still possible.

"Well, Sakura I gotta go. I'm on shift for the Exam preps, see ya." Sherry stood up and straightened her staff uniform. Thank god for young people with fashion.

"Good bye Hitsugaya- taichou"

"See ya"

"Bye! Be gentle to the kids" Sakura walked her friend to the door.

"Always" then Sherry was out the threshold. Sakura closed the door with a soft click

Sakura walked gracefully back to the couch with her guest. She sat a little closer to him from the couch. He already returned back to is seat and had his hands folded in the sleeves of his robes.

"So tell me about these qualities?" Sakura pressed on.

"Nothing much…" Sakura noticed he hesitated a little bit. She was a past shinobi after all.

"Why did he choose you then? He could've asked the other captains for their high reiatsu and have more children" she placed her hand on her knee and wasn't exactly looking directly at Hitsugaya since his gaze was in truth very intense.

Hitsugaya rolled the words on his tongue before he explained "I just have different genes"

"Yeah, I know. Everyone has different genes" Sakura said coolly. She taught the advanced medical class for goodness sakes. She was now concentrating on his folded arms. Doesn't he ever blink?

"Not my genes"

"Oh?"

"Which is something you don't need to know" there was something about his voice that was final.

Hitsugaya just sat in the silence and once again looked around the room. There was something about this girl that draws him to her. He couldn't pin point it. She wasn't really _greatly_ attractive, but was really, really, pretty. Her green eyes gazed on the floor demurely through her thick lashes. Her skin was creamy white. It was really unusual to have pastel pink hair, but Kusajishi had the same colour. But it was no less weird than having silver.

"I think it's about time I go. Ami will destroy the house if I'm one second late" Hitsugaya got up and preceded to the door. He picked up his Zanpakutou and turned to Sakura.

She immediately got up and went to his side and showed out to the door. She smiled as she turned the knob and looked up to him. He made it pass the threshold and was a bout to Shunpo off but he was stopped by her sweet voice.

"Come back and have dinner anytime" she said.

He turned towards her and smirked. "Yeah, you'll be seeing me more often" and then he was gone.

Sakura sighed and closed the door. He went over to the couch and sat beside the sleeping cat. Her stomach churned from the encounter with that handsome teen, and is still churning now. For some reason, she didn't like that smirk and for some reason she felt those crystalline eyes are going to appear in her dreams.

-------------

The lone night blew an easy breeze from the north, whooshing passed Hitsugaya- taichou's ears. The sound of the Drunken 5 from across his division left a stain on his ears as he briskly entered the compound. Once again he has to bunk in his barracks room instead of his home. His home under the rule of Ami.

Hitsugaya sighed. He rubbed his temple and entered his quarters, not bothering to address the silent vibration of his cell phone. Probably Matsumoto again. He hoped that Ami doesn't go rampaging in here, looking for him again. He collapsed on his bed, face down and groaned his stress into the pillow.

His mind racked up all the necessary forms needed for the next hectic day and possibly a next schedule for company training time. God, being a captain is a huge pain in the ass.

His stomach was most satisfied by the dinner received a new neighbour's house. Haruno Sakura was her name. He noted the colour of her hair, a pastel pink shade. It certainly matched her name. The corners of his lips twitched upwards at the thought of seeing her again. The next time he will want dinner AND lunch. Her cooking wasn't that bad. Better than Matsumoto's at least.

His turbulent mind went to Ami. She was a BIGGER pain in the ass. He threw the covers on top and prayed that the existence of her would just disappear along with the memories and the old fart's orders.

He stared out the window from his futon and thought about the other friend of Sakura. Sherry Elric was it? Him and his prodigal memories. She wasn't Asian he can see that, and she was fluent in Japanese. Interesting and weird. She seemed like a German though. Finished with his thoughts, he turned over and closed his eyes. Sleep overcame exhaustion.

------------

The crisp leaves rustled against the strong wind which blew now from the east. The only reason why the window was left open was for the fresh air. Sakura carefully opened the padded envelope that was given to her and checked the contents. She quickly scanned each page and before placing it back exactly where it was.

Her day, you wouldn't say was great. But it wasn't totally boring either. She just found another military secret she shouldn't have known and hoped to god she can live on normally. Be a humble class teacher and be proud of life. But no, she had an inkling feeling that THAT is not going to happen.

Sakura trudged upstairs and dragged herself into her bedroom. Karupin was already there sleeping in her bed. She changed into a tanktop and short shorts and got into bed with the cat.

'Ne, that captain was very intimidating'

'_**Well, he seemed stress so you can't blame him'**_ replied Hikari. Sakura felt her stir somewhere in the back of her mind.

'_Well I wouldn't mind if her stopped by for dinner one more time. New change of company'_

'_**He does seem interesting enough, his reiatsu was a bit unusual though…'**_

'_Did you see what he was wearing when he burst in?' _ Sakura rolled over facing the window a slight amused smile evident.

' _**But of course. He was still wearing his bloody PYJAMAS'**_

_**-----------  
**_

_**REVISION:**_** Alright, I hope that these dialogues cleared some clouds of confusion. So now we know what Sakura and Sherry do for a living and we have a better understanding of why Hitsugaya got shanghaied into a marriage. gotta love that word  
**

**And Yamamoto's got a sick mind. The qualities that Hitsugaya was talking about are Vyagon qualities that he doesn't what Sakura and Sherry to know.**

**In the previous chapter, I mentioned 'All Natural' this means that Yamamoto wanted Ami to get pregnant the natural way. So basically, he wanted Hitsugaya and Ami to have sex**

**R&Review plz! Constructive critism welcomed and am opened to suggestions! (doesn't mean i'm out of ideas X3)**

**----TripWire- dono  
**


	3. Too Unconventional

**So how was that so far? Just to let you know, ONE LAST CHANCE IN SEIREITEI is officially discontinued because I felt that the story was too slow and HitsuSaku was moving too fast. This is why I created THIS story instead where everything is just the right pace with maximum effect! Explaination on my profile.  
**

**Card Counters: still in progress (haven't given up) there will 2 side stories later.**

**Enjoy this chapter:**

**

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**

_Recap:_

'Ne, that captain was very intimidating'

'_**Well, he seemed stress so you can't blame him'**_ replied Hikari. Sakura felt her stir somewhere in the back of her mind.

'_Well I wouldn't mind if her stopped by for dinner one more time. New change of company'_

'_**He does seem interesting enough, his reiatsu was a bit unusual though…'**_

'_Did you see what he was wearing when he burst in?' _ Sakura rolled over facing the window a slight amused smile evident.

' _**But of course. He was still wearing his bloody PYJAMAS'**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

**Chapter 3:**

"Matsumoto, get this stack to the 6th division and don't take any detours this time"

"Hai taichou" Matsumoto dragged herself from the couch and lugged the documents onto a trolley and wheeled out.

Hitsugaya took a sip from his teacup and listened to the resounding grind of the wheels. He didn't understand why he had to work on weekend. The humans in the real world got weekends off, why couldn't Soul Society? Hitsugaya got up from the desk and went to the kitchens to get some snacks. Not having breakfast everyday for his growing body was starting to take its toll.

Sake, sake, sake, sake, more sake. That was it in the fridge. He slammed the door shut and muttered a curse. "Damn Matsumoto" the only option left was to get lunch, which he was eternally grateful he got himself a break. But the problem was Matsumoto's irresponsibleness.

He stuck his head out first to see if there was any 'Ami' there and when he was certain, he folded his arms in his sleeve and sauntered out. The air was lovely and sounds of birds echoed in the trees. It wasn't everyday you get to hear them actually since everybody is so tense because of the Winter War.

"Ah Hitsugaya- taichou"

"Yeah?" he turned around coming face to face with Unohana of the 4th. She looked very composed and placid as always. What schemes does she have under that friendly smile.

"Our records show that you are due into a physical, Hitsugaya- taichou"

"Oh?" he mentally cringed. It was the one thing that he absolutely dreads. A physical.

"When will you like the appointment" She smiled.

"I don't need to go to a physical. I am perfectly healthy" he said.

"So you say. But it is regulations that all Shinigamis must have the annual check up"

"Look, I already HAD my physical last year and I don't need another one because I feel just as fine as last year" He started to walk away and Unohana followed.

They were now walking along the shopping district of Seireitei. It was filled with all sorts of food stands and cafes. They dodged the bustling crowd and stopped near the centre with the fountain.

"Yes, but that was a year ago. And now you have another one this year." She insisted pleasantly.

"I'll think about it when the time comes" He sighed and rubbed his temples. He's been doing that a lot these days.

"You can't keep putting it off Hitsugaya taichou." He only grunted in response.

"Anyhow, onto social matters. How is the engagement so far?" Unohana asked.

"I don't want to even think about it" he groaned and stretched his arms over his head in stretch. He then tugged on the band on his left with his fingers.

"Yes, I can imagine it must be difficult for you. I extend my condolences" she smiled peacefully.

"Thanks?" he wasn't sure whether it was good think or a bad thing, but he knew that engagement was downright bull.

"Anyhow, I must be going" she turned around and started to walk away. Fellow captains don't need to bow to each other. "Come see me soon, Hitsugaya- taichou. You know it's inevitable" he voice disappeared into the sea of people and so did she.

"Whatever"

"GAAAAH!

Hitsugaya felt the wind knocked out of him as he caught something heavy in his stomach. It felt soft and small. He looked down to see it was a girl he was pressed tightly against.

A pink haired girl. Sakura. Oh, how interesting.

She hung onto his robe for support and balance and his hands were latched onto her hips to help her from falling, pressed tightly against his.

He craned his head to the side and looked at the many packets of udon tumble from a box and onto the floor.

Then he looked down into a flustered face of the girl in his arms. He could smell her strawberry scent with his enhanced senses. It tingled his nose. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty and she was biting her lip. Her cheeks were a tiny bit tinged. It actually felt nice holding her like this.

"Umm, do you mind?" she said in a small voice. His eyes were once again unnerving, as it scanned every aspect of her face.

"Uh, yeah" he let her go and she scurried to the box and hurriedly picked up the packets and dumped them in the box.

'_I supposed I should help her'_

'_**No shit'**_

Sakura was busy and didn't noticed that the guy she rammed into stooped down and helped her.

'_Jerk, now all the udon are broken inside!'_

'_**YOU ran into him, Sakura. So apologise'**_

Sakura figured she should. "Hey, sorry I bumped into you earlier. You ok?" she looked up into his eyes. She never noticed how _green_ they were. More like a jade colour, or perhaps teal.

"It's alright. Just watch where you're going next time" he picked up the box for her and started to walk away. Sakura, crouched on the floor watch as the taichou walked away with her shopping. Getting further and further.

"You coming?"

Realisation slapped her like a wet fish. She dashed after him through the crowd and came to stop in front. She stood huffing in front of him with an irritated face with her pink locks fallen over her eyes messily. She composed herself in a more presentable manner and curtly grabbed the box from his arms.

"Thankyou", she said in a stiff voice. Her heels spun around and stalked off away from him. The silver haired taichou grinned. He started to follow her.

'_God, the nerve of him. That was cheap thing to do. Steal someone's shopping. What a dirty captain'_ Sakura didn't feel the reiatsu emitting for him leave. It seems to be it was following her. She grunted in annoyance and turned around. She glanced at him shortly and only to see that he _was_ following her, but look like he doesn't notice her at all. His eyes and head were turned outwards to the left, as if admiring the scene of autumn leaves dancing in the air. Her eyes trailed down his neck to the opening of his shihakushou which exposed part of his toned chest.

The memory of seeing him in his cotton pyjamas hit her with full force. The outline of his toned frame was practically etched into her brain. She shakily turned around again pressed her face to the box, feeling the heat reach her cheeks. She had to admit. He was hot.

Hitsugaya turned his head to the front again. He observed her in an amused way. This girl was certainly interesting. It wouldn't hurt to see what other things she would do. Perhaps he should ask her to make lunch for him.

"Are you following me"

He blinked. Sakura was now facing him with a suspicious glare.

"No. You're just going in my direction"

Sakura pursed her lips _'he is following me…'_ her past shinobi senses kicked in, giving her stomach a queasy feeling, the same way an enemy mist ninja would sneak and pursue them in the shadows. She couldn't prove he was deliberately following her so the pinkette resigned and continued to walk, but in high alert. Having a _taichou _of any division was not a experience you want.

"Tou- tou! I found you, finally. I want you to take me out to lunch like you promised. There is this new restaurant that you just have to---"

Sakura almost tripped on the smooth ground upon the sickeningly sweet voice. She couldn't feel _her _coming and it was a bit annoying. _'__"Also, she is a Vyagon" said Sherry'_ her mind recollected. It was still extremely surprising that an extinct species of the _Shinigami_ realm just suddenly became _not_ extinct.

"Oh. You're here" Ami said in an unwelcoming tone.

'_**Should've had the chance to run away'**_ Sakura felt Hikari yawn deep within her mind.

"Oh, hi. Nice meeting you again" Sakura said in a _nice_ voice. Her brows twitched, with the urge to pummel the girl.

"Well, fancy seeing you around here again. Around my fiancé again." She stood just in front of Hitsugaya, as if protecting any danger that might come towards him. In this case, that threat would be Sakura, innocently lugging her box of udon around.

Hitsugaya sighed in frustration and stepped well away from her, not wanting to associated with Ami any longer. He dropped his eyes to the ground, his mouth turned downwards in a grimace.

"Well, I was just on my way home to put this away and cook my self some lunch" Sakura replied in another polite voice. _'No, point going agro over the girl'_

"Cook food?" Hitsugaya inquired softly. He looked up from the ground into Sakura eyes.

"Huh?" Sakura looked towards him.

"Well, Tou-tou is going to take me to lunch"

"Don't call me that!"

Ami smirked at Sakura. She pivoted her body and pressed her self against Hitsugaya. He pulled himself away as if she was acid.

"I don't remember promising such things, Ami, just go home" he glowered at her.

A silky black hell moth fluttered by and perched on Ami's head, since her arms are once again latched onto the captain's neck. "OH, soutaichou wants to see me! Must be about the wedding date. Byebye tou- tou!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he felt like punching the living daylights out of something. Ami disappeared around the corner, once she relinquished her vice grip.

"Don't touch him!" was the echoed reply of the Vyagon woman.

'_How did I get roped into this'_ Sakura mentally sighed.

"Once again, I apologise for her behaviour" He said.

"It's…fine" Sakura said. "You really hate her don't you?"

"I despise her"

Sakura giggled a little "I can see you really want to kill her"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, are you sure you will be alright carrying that home"

"Well, I guess" The box was actually quiet big and heavy and he knew that. It weighed a fair bit when he picked it up, enough to him to hold back a grunt. But this girl, look fine. Maybe he can bargain for lunch. Toushirou went over to Sakura and took the box from her. She gave a yelp but her paid it no mind.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?"

"I can see a vision of you tripping in the middle of the street again and I don't want to be seen with you like that" he replied back.

"WHO WAS THE ONE STANDING LIKE AN IDIOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET FIRST?"

Sakura ran after him and skidded to a stop beside. She didn't see, but he was wearing a satisfying smirk. This woman was quiet amusing.

"Do you even know where you are going?" Sakura brushed a strand of pink hair behind her ears. Her vibrant emerald orbs stared back at him in annoyance. She had a lot of things to get through before she can relax on a weekend. As she recalled, there was a podium of exams to mark for the graduates of the Academy and they were NOT fun to mark and of course planning her next three classes.

"Your house"

"Right, do you remember where I live Hitsugaya- _taichou_?"

He stared back at her with a strange look.

"Of, course Hitsugaya- taichou, _tensai_ of Soul Society.

"And don't you forget that"

* * *

The sound of stampeding feet outside in the corridor was enough to be heard all across the campus. Honestly, was it that bad to spend a _little_ weekend detention time? The high back chair was faced away from the door and towards the back window. Totally ignored were the neat manila folders that were organised according to importance, the reports of suspended students, tossed on the carpeted floor and the many other leaflets of papers strewn across the desk. Only the take away box of BBQ pork bun seemed to have received attention.

The figure behind the chair stood up and crossed with long strides towards the cabinet beside the crammed bookshelf. He unlocked it and took out a bottle of clear liquid. _'Damn'_ it had crack at the bottom and it was leaking slowly along the cupboard panels. _'No wonder why the cabinet was noisy'_

His pierced ear twitched to the sound of whatever that was zoning in on his office door. _'Three, two…one…'_

"Katsuya, I have a requestion from the Head of the Literature staff"

The door swung upon fully to reveal a woman. She carried a clipboard pressed firmly to her hips. Her deep violet eyes pierced through this _'Katsuya's'_ back. Her rich voice died when she saw that the manila folders look like it wasn't even touched. She grasp her long silver hair and tugged it slightly, something she did when she was annoyed.

One would think she was a noble upon sight. Her straight posture, air of confidence and dignity and long slender legs. She had perfect breast size as well, not too modest and not too overbearing. Her unique eye colour was most exquisite, the deep, violet shade would steal any man's attention. Her pale, creamy skin seemed to glow flawlessly under the filtered sunlight from the window. She was stunningly beautiful.

Too bad her attire doesn't match those of a noble.

"Did you even read the _other_ requisitions I left on your desk?" she glided over to the cluttered table and dropped her clipboard on it.

"Of course I did, Science all the way to History" A smooth male voice drifted from the figure. He placed the bottle on the floor and closed the cabinet. It needed to be cleaned out later.

"What do you say about it?"

'Katsuya' turned around finally and stared back at the woman with equally deep shade of violet. He smirked and went to his chair and twisted it back around. He picked up the manila folders and flipped all five of them open in a split second, all neatly lined up, with dextrous fingers.

He leaned back and stretched his arms above his head in an amazing arc. Stretches were good for you. He quickly scanned the documents set before his eyes before he came to a conclusion.

"Well, I'm gonna have to deny the science staffs request for an excursion for the 12th Division. That's for sure. They kicked a school reporter out the other day. Unlucky bugger. Other than that, we can't fit anything else into this term's schedule"

He racked his fingers through his unkepted hair. His white locks betrayed his age. It didn't make sense that someone so young was able to take on the responsibility of 'Principal'. It was only reserved for those who were over 30 _at least. _He was a great contrast between the many elderly men dressed in puffy robes, framed in pine wood which hung high against the wall. The past principal's stern and judgemental eyes looked over the office.

They were old, ugly and wrinkly. Katsuya was young and handsome. They were old fashioned, strict and conservative. He was fresh, fair and had lateral thinking. In other words, he was the schools saviour.

"So we can only include one more excursion that would suit the schools syllabise?" the woman inquired.

"I'm 'fraid so Yura my dear. That would be the History staff one. It's for the 4th years. Though I would have to call the up the on one of the 13 _taichous_ for permission of course. I'll give them a ring tomorrow"

"I will notify the History staff about this. But if we _were_ granted an approval, there aren't enough teachers for supervision for a class of I dunno, 300?" the woman named 'Yura' replied.

"I will take care of that, I'll just grab someone from another staff. Whoever's free I guess" **(A/N: I'm purposely not telling what the excursion is. Don't think I'm just writing on a bad whim :3)**

"And the rest?" Yura pointed to the other folders open in front. He stared at them and clicked his tongue a couple of times.

"Yeah, we have extra money for more text books. Though the Kenjutsu teachers are gonna rant on why didn't the money go to them instead for more practice swords"

"Alright. Is there anything else you might want to add?" Yura picked up the clipboard and fountain pen, poised and ready to write any dictation from her superior.

Katsuya placed the manila folders back in their respective order and pulled out what seemed to be a leather bound diary from the top drawer of his desk. He flicked through to the bookmark with an image of a naked woman and ran his fingers over the chicken scratch on the neat page.

"To all those who were involved in fire crackers incident in the west wing dormitory, fess up now or the whole academy is going on lockdown until the perpetrator or perpetrator_s_ comes forward"

He snapped the book shut and grabbed another pork bun. He took a bite, savouring the sweet and sour taste.

"Honestly" Yura rolled her eyes and snapped the lid shut on her pen and began to glide out again. Katsuya grinned mischievously and went back to his seat and crossed his feet on top of the desk.

"Yura" he called out. She stopped and turned back slightly. "You would make a brilliant _fuku-taichou_ someday"

"Save that spot for Neji or something. So far Deputy principal suits me fine" she closed the door with a soft click. Her shadow from the door windscreen grew blurrier as she disappeared like a ninja through the corridor.

He looked at himself in the reflection of one of the framed portraits behind. _Takahashi Genichirou (1954- 2008)_ was what the little plaque at the bottom read. He was the 20th principal. His vision focused from the unsmiling man's face to his own reflection in the glass.

Silvery, white mess of hair on his head, the infamous violet eyes and a healthy tan. People mistaken his hair for dyed since only the hair at the nape of his neck was still black. Not meant to be so. He narrowed it down to a birth defect. His nose was straight and looked aristocratic. He creased his smile into a crooked grin, the same strained grin that would melt a girl to his feet. He was indeed young and very handsome. 'Hot' would be the right word if you were a giggling sweet sixteen. But since the school is filled with half of them, things were quite stressful.

In the real world, he had requests from magazines such as '_Cosmopolitan' 'Dolly' _and _'CLEO'_ ask him if we wanted to appear in their magazines as 'hottest stranger'. Obviously he accepted so he could rub it in the faces of the teachers in his school.

If only all 20 could see him now. Why, they would scream bloody murder to see a playboy like him be _principal_ of a respected Academy. He smirked. Good thing all 20 are no longer alive now.

He swivelled his chair back to facing the window and continued to stare at the spacious area laid before him.

_Yes, that seat will be reserved for Neji._

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**Those two characters Katsuya and Yura play important roles in this story. So I suggest you be on the look out for them and try to see what they come up with.**

**You have probably noticed that Hitsugaya is slightly OC. That is because as people mature, they change (he's 16). In his case, he grew teeny- tiny bit hormonal, pubescent and cheeky. You know the 'Kurosaki influence factor', his lecture about Kusaka in Diamond Dust Rebellion and the continuous Matsumoto pestering. But he's still same ol' Hitsugaya- **_**taichou**_**. So you can see that Seireitei is pretty calm at the moment. (minus Ami)**

**Read and REVIEW my dearies!**

**TripWire- dono**


	4. Vyagons

**Hey! I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I try not to make Sakura Mary sue. In fact as normal as a person can be. Like a humble school teacher who used to be a shinobi… ok, not normal. Thankyou my reviews of the world! Mucho appreciato! (pardon my French…errr, Italian or whatever)**

**So what do you think of Katsuya and Yura so far? Interesting people I say. Of course authors opinion. Anyway, I have a deviantART account and I have drawn HitsuSaku ^o^ pictures based on my story! *thumbs up* anyhow, they won't be displayed until I get far enough in the story otherwise they will be a bunch a spoilers instead.^^**

**So now enjoy this chapter! TripWire- dono signing out!**

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_**Recap:**_

_If only all 20 could see him now. Why, they would scream bloody murder to see a playboy like him be principal of a respected Academy. He smirked. Good thing all 20 are no longer alive now._

_He swivelled his chair back to facing the window and continued to stare at the spacious area laid before him._

_Yes, that seat will be reserved for Neji._

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**Chapter 4: Vyagons  
**

Sakura finally got to relax for the first time in days. So much had happen in one shot that she no longer knew what went on and just flowed with time. Marking stressful exams with one thing, but cooking and eating lunch with the captain of the 10th Division was another thing.

It was five days ago and as she recalled, Hitsugaya-_ taichou_ insisted that she cook him lunch since he carried the box of broken _udon_ all the way to her house. It was like he planned it form the very start! He could just go and scrounge for food for all she cared. Rank and captains didn't mean much to her anyway. But no, he insisted, bordering on demand for food. That Ami brat would be much obliged to have him as a guest instead. Scratch that, _she would die for the notion…_

Sakura flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. She flipped through various channels, not taking in the blur of sound that emitted from the machine she bought from the real world. Just images flashed past her eyes, but nothing registered. She finally settled on a live action show about a baboon called Don Kanonji or something or other.

One thing bugged her.

_Why did she let him?_

He wasn't a totally nice guest one would think for a guy his calibre. In fact, he was snide, sarcastic and criticised on every little thing about her dish. It was so much, she had to hurl her pair of chopsticks at him. The meat was bland, the rice was too soft, the sauce was too salty. Grrr! And he revelled in her rage for his stupid smirk said so. If he doesn't like it, then don't ask for food any more!

Of course, he dodged them like nothing.

This got her more infuriated so her hands itched to the kitchen knife set.

The hair on the back of her neck bristled at the memories. She pinched her nose out of habit and just lied on the couch lengthways. Why the hell was she thinking about this NOW of all time? This was supposed to be her relaxation time. And she wasn't relaxing…at all.

'_**Face it mistress, you can't continue your duties with this state of mind. It's thundering in here'**_Hikari spoke up out of the blue, referring to her mindscape. **(A/N: you know how Zangetsu hates the rain in his retarded sideways world)**

'Gah, I know. It's just I can't stop thinking about it. It was really weird…'

'_**Perhaps it was because you felt drawn to him in someway. No?'**_

Sakura rubbed her pink locks in attempt to clear her thoughts. It was true. She didn feel drawn to him. But what? How? Why? She remembered the sound of his voice and how he sarcastically explained what he called _'The Concept of Stupidity in the Kitchen'_ it was smooth and deep. It washed over her ears and she couldn't help but think it was quite… seductive.

The way he looked at her, she could've sworn, she saw a hint of some sort of raw emotion in there. Something animalistic. But of course it was gone just as quick as it came. It was unnerving. Sakura pushed back into her sitting position and readjusted her bathrobe.

'_Alright, enough dilly dallying. Gotta get some work done'_ with a new state of mind, her green eyes brimmed once again with the will to work.

But it soon died again.

'_Now that I think about it. He wouldn't stop watching me…'_ a few seconds later, she gasp at her new discovery.

'_**Oh? I thought you were going to start plunging into the sea of papers. Not daydreaming about him again' **_Hikari lifted an elegant brow.

'_Yes you're absolutely right. I'm REALLY going to work'_ the flame within her burned bright again.

She pulled an overstuffed folder from her messenger bag beside the _kotatsu_. It resembled the 4th Divisions medical kit strap bag. It was unfortunate that the drunken _shinigamis _often mistaken her for one of the weak _Shinigamis_. But she wasn't complaining. ^^

She placed it with a neat 'thunk' on the table and flipped the heavy leaflets, past the roll call list, homework diary and all the way to class planning. She picked up a pen with her petite hands and placed just between her lips.

'_We have covered the medical properties of the mountain herbs and its uses. That was so boring I could've slept while teaching. How about something more spicy!'_

Sakura grinned in delight. That was perfect for breaking up the monotony of the curriculum. She staggered to her feet, massaging her stiff legs on the way and went to the cabinet. She pulled out a thick, old textbook that looked like it was falling apart. Perhaps from the being used so much.

She flipped it to a random page, being careful of its fragile state.

Page 654. title:

_Vyagons_

'_Vyagons huh?'_

Sakura walked slowly back to the couch as she skimmed over the contents. This topic was interesting enough. The students will definitely get a kick out of it. It was a long time since she researched anything about the Vyagons since it was a declared an extinct race ages ago. She needed to brush up on the info.

* * *

_Vyagons is known to be on the top of the ladder of evolution in the Shinigami realm. They are the highest class of dragons known. This creature has been introduced in many stories, telling about its fearsome attitude, antagonist ways and of course, it's mythological abilities. They are civilised creatures settled in the West Mountains between the Fujitsu River and Daiken Area._

_They are generally arrogant creatures believe heavily in purity. They don't hoard treasure like the lower class dragons, but they do have an attachment to extremely valuable objects, hence, Vyaga was extremely wealthy and their economic status started to increase dramatically. _

_They have established an Empire known as Vyaga. In the year 3700BC it was founded by the great King, Faramir Goran. From then on the Empire has flourished for thousands of years until the Great War of Velvet. (See page 672)_

_Vyagons are mainly identified through their unnatural beauty. They look almost identical to the average Shinigami in terms of body size and shape except for a few minor details. Their nails are longer and sharper, they grow long canines and normally have unusual hair and eye colour (refer to diagram 13.2)_

_Vyagons have enhanced senses. Their senses are 5 times higher than an average Shinigami. Sight, scent, taste, hearing and skin sensitivity. They also possess a 3rd nature. _

_Vyagons are also known for their great medicinal properties found all over their anatomy. It's blood for example have 7 uses and it's scales, if grated finely can be used to staunch blood…_

_

* * *

  
_

That was all she needed to read to get her mind going. Sakura analysed every word concerning the medical history of Vyagon blood to memory. This shall be a case study._ 'Now I just need 30 copies of this'_

Hitsugaya- _taichou _is half Vyagon. Vyagons were extinct in her head a few days ago. And now, they are _not _extinct because of guess who? Sherry's information was normally reliable but this was confusing she needed tea.

Sakura fell from the couch and onto the _tatami_ with a flop. Her energy was so drained from thinking and planning she swore her brain was turning to mush.

"Karupin? Where are you girl? Mummy's gonna give you a tummy rub" Sakura cooed around for the cat but nothing replied. Sakura pouted at her cats antics. "Karupin? Honey, I need you right now. I'm tired and more tired and I wanna pat your stomach"

No mewl. All was silent.

"She's probably out with a tomcat somewhere…"

Sakura went to the kitchen to fix a pot of jasmine tea. Like an expert who made tea all their lives, she carried her task like nothing.

'_**Was it a coincident that you decided to teach about Vyagons?'**_

'_Definitely'_

'_**You sure?'**_

'_Aboslutely'_

'_**Alright, Alright. But your tea is boiling over'**_

"Shit!" Sakura quickly turned of the stove and opened the lid of the terracotta teapot. She grabbed a towel and carefully wiped the spilt tea away carefully as not to burn herself. So much for expertly making tea.

"I'm home!'"

"I'm in the kitchen!" Sakura yelled in reply. She heard of the struggle of her friend as she tried to untie her straw sandals at the _genkan. _Sherry through her teachers _haori _onto the nearest hook and went over to the fridge. "Sorry, there's no _dango_ today"

Sakura remade the tea, this time not being distracted by unwanted thoughts.

"Oh well, you can't win them all" Sherry shut the fridge door in resignation. She pulled her hair pin out and scratched her head. Her face scrunched up in discomfort as she went over to the other side of the bench and sat in the stool.

"You know, I bought this new hair needle during my break. It sucks."

"How so?" Sakura poured the newly brewed tea into two cups and passed it to Sherry.

"Well, the design's really neat and all, but the actual needle is made of fake gold. I think I might be allergic to it 'cause it feels like got lice in my hair" Sherry scratched mercilessly.

"Well don't keep scratching it! You will get blister in you hair and it will be so painful you won't be wearing any hair decorations"

Sherry grumbled in annoyance and threw the delicate green rhinestone hair needle with pearl enamel coated on the top, in the bin.

"That's such a waste Sherry" Sakura looked sullenly at the tossed away craft, which was probably embedded in the stinky rubbish from her dinner with Hitsugaya- _taichou._

"Don't sweat it, it was only 8500 yen anyway" Sherry waved her hand away. It was really funny seeing her with her hair down. It went well past her shoulders and was slightly layered. Sakura never knew that and she was her best friend!

"You tell anyone about this and 'bye-bye Sakura',"

Sakura just smiled pleasantly at the girl.

"So what's been going on for the past few days?" asked Sherry.

"Nothing much. A couple of nights ago I had dinner with the _juubantai taichou_" Sakura waited for her reaction.

"Him again? Hitsugaya- _taichou_?"

"Funny huh? He wanted lunch, with me"

"I think he has a thing for you" Sherry swivelled around and got off the stool and strutted to the _kotatsu_. She picked up the aging textbook and skimmed over the words boredly. Her eyes lit up with mischief.

"Oh? What's this? You've been doing your research too" Sherry dangled the book with her thumb and forefinger, the page number 654 _Vyagons_.

"Give it here" Sakura went over and took the book delicately from Sherry's grasp and carefully stuck a post- it in the page and laid it on the table gently.

"You know, if Ino found out about this, she will make your life a living hell, no matter how much of a friend you are" Sherry kicked back on the couch and scooted over to make room for Sakura.

"Anyhow, I don't think Hitsugaya- _taichou_ has a thing for me. He just hates his fiancé so much he was desperate to get away. Nothing more" Sakura's voice conveyed her thoroughly convinced thought.

"Well, what happened at dinner huh?" Sherry bounced up and down on her butt and grabbed a pillow like a child waiting for storytime.

"He's not someone I want to for lunch, dinner or breakfast again"

"Do tell"

"He has the gall to criticise my cooking when he is the one practically begging for it in a captain way, you know make seem he wasn't starving for real food. And then he makes smart ass comments about being in the kitchen and to top it off, HE WON'T STOP STARING AT ME!"

Sakura was flouncing her arms around, clearly annoyed and shoving forth her opinions into poor Sherry's face. With a huff she finished her sentence and settled back down. Perturbed and pouting.

"Won't stop staring at you? I think he's just trying to get under your skin because it's fun! Why do you think Gaara loves doing that to the first years?"

"He's being an ass that's what"

"Keep going" Sherry released the pillow and sat back relaxing.

"That was it. Then I kicked him out. Then he said _'What, no after lunch drinks?',_". He bloody smirked at me"

Sherry let out a bout of laughter. "I still think he has a thing for you"

"I still think he's being an ass to me"

"But one thing. Don't you think it' really surprising he's a half Vyagon? He's basically half dragon!" Sherry said.

"Not really. I've had my share of weirdos" Sakura filed through her memories of Orochimaru, Naruto, Gaara, Kisame and all the other freaks she encountered.

"I think it's brilliant! We can find out the secrets they hold in their body! Just get a sample of his blood. What makes them what they are! Knowledge! Secrets! Science!"

"You mean 'alchemists' not 'we'. This is exactly the type of behaviour that drives them away to seclusion. But I'm all for it if you mean taking Ami's blood. Take all of it if you must" Sakura pounded her fist in one hand.

"So how's the bitch these days?" asked Sherry.

"Annoying as ever and a real Hitsugaya fan girl. She practically thinks he belongs to her"

Their conversation was interrupted by Sakura's cell phone _'One Missed Call Ring tone'_. She dug around her neglected bag and pulled it out and flipped it open. After a few minutes worth of interrupted answers on the phone and the loud blaring of '_Inopig' _on the other side. Sakura softly close her phone and sighed loudly.

"Yamanaka?"

"Yeah. She's inviting me to go clubbing with her tonight"

"I was about to tell you about that. I'm going too"

"Right, so I gotta pick out an outfit. But enough about me, how's your day?"

"Well, my excursion request was turned down--"

"I knew it"

"Shut up. It was replaced by the history staffs one. An excursion to one of the divisions to learn about how a division works and learn about the ranking system within a division"

"Which division is it?"

"It's undecided. Katsuya- san was supposed to call one of them 4 days ago. But I guess he forgot. Good news though, your name's on the list to go as an extra teacher"

"_Yoshi_! A break!"

"Well, I must get going. There is no more reason to stay because there is no more _dango_ in your fridge. So, ta-ta!" Sherry got up and went to the front door. Sakura walked with her to see her off. Once her daily guest was gone, Sakura began to pack up her stuff and lugged them all the way up the stairs to her room.

'_**I agree with, Elric mistress'**_

'_Please, he's more things to worry about then stuff like this'_

'_**Why did you assume I was talking about the male?'**_

'_Why wouldn't you?'_

'_**Because it was the first thing that popped into your head, it goes to show something'** _Hikari grinned knowingly in the depths of Sakura's mind.

"Geez! Why can't everyone just not talk about him anymore? It's bad enough he keeps popping in here and there wanting food"

A soft mewl drifted from her bedroom. Sakura pushed back the door of one of the rooms to find her missing cat just waking from its deep slumber. Its blue eyes slowly grew wider as it became more alert. Karupin sat up and stared like a little sculptured stone at Sakura.

"You were that deep asleep?" Sakura groaned. If only she can sleep as easy as she did. Karupin continued to stare like a painting.

"Whatever. Now to take a shower and get ready to go clubbing. What should it be? Read or black?" Sakura closed the door with a muffled click and proceeded down the upstairs hall. When making sure that her owner was gone, Karupin stretched in a furry arc twice and backwards and sat down again licking her paws. She swivelled her head here and there before hopping onto the unknown bed that occupied the room. She placed her brown socks onto the window sill and stared outside.

She stared with all her might at the pair of teal orbs that stared back from the opposite window from across the street.

* * *

"Kira! Shuuhei! Renji! Guess what? I got discount coupons for drinks to go raving"

Matsumoto bounced on the floor and waved the crumpled pieces of paper in her hands.

Kira and Shuuhei looked up in shock at the over- happy voice that disturbed their peaceful drink. Renji gave her a 'WTF' look.

"I'm not going to a club that gives out _discount coupons_" Renji spat.

"C'mon, it's a once in a lifetime chance. They might raise the drink prices higher next time"

"No they won't!"

"So would!"

"But is says here that at least 5 people must go for the discount to be valid. And there's the four of us" Shuuhei had taken the coupons from her grasp and smoothed it out in order to read it between the creases.

"Who said I was going!" Renji slammed his hand on his knees.

"Of course you are going Renji. We always got drinking together" Matsumoto laughed it off.

"Che, whatever"

Silence fell upon them and the volume of the cricket chirps increased. Who would be the fifth person? Then a bubbly voice shattered the silence. Matsumoto placed her hands in a 'That's gold!' symbol **(A/N: lolz! Only an Aussie would know that)**

"A hah! I know!"

* * *

**Le GASP! Who did Matsumoto thought of? Ahuh! Now we know what a Vyagon really is. Summarising what it is, it's a dragon. Hitsugaya- **_**taichou's**_** half Vyagon. How did he become a half Vyagon we wonder. SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! But I know of course. (duh I concocted this story). And who is the fifth lucky person going clubbing?**

**Yeah, a 'That's Gold Symbol' is like, you make you right hand in a 'thumbs up' pose and you slap it (upright) on the palm of your left hand. And then shout "That's gold!" Aorta mean's ALRIGHT! in cricket, but you can use it in anything else.  
**

**And I thought that ending was quite interesting. You known I don't write things without a reason. EVERYTHING HAS MEANING SO READ CAREFULLY.**

**I'll let you know when I will post the pictures on deviantART, so in the mean time, so be patient. Don't wanna spoil anything as of yet.**

**Read & REVIEW:: my darlings!**

**Peace out!**

**TripWire- dono **


	5. CRAZY DOG

**Hehehe! I actually finished the last chapter in 4 days. Anyway here's a really spicy one! I hope you have been enjoying reading my works. **

**I'm sorry for the late update because I went on holidays to Japan! I also gathered research material there such as Japanese customs and culture. I got tired of reading anime fanfics that only displayed American culture instead of Japanese culture. Personally I'm Aussie with a full Asian backgrond. I mean, ITS ANIME FOR GOODNESS SAKES! So my mission is to recapture the Japanese essence and put it in my stories.**

**So enjoy!**

**

* * *

  
**

_**Recap:**_

"_But is says here that at least 5 people must go for the discount to be valid. And there's the four of us" Shuuhei had taken the coupons from her grasp and smoothed it out in order to read it between the creases._

"_Who said I was going!" Renji slammed his hand on his knees._

"_Of course you are going Renji. We always got drinking together" Matsumoto laughed it off._

"_Che, whatever"_

_Silence fell upon them and the volume of the cricket chirps increased. Who would be the fifth person? Then a bubbly voice shattered the silence. Matsumoto placed her hands in a 'That's gold!' symbol **(A/N: lolz! Only an Aussie would know that)**_

"_A hah! I know!" _

* * *

**Chapter 5: CRAZY DOG  
**

'_How did I let my self be dragged away like this is beyond me'_

Hitsugaya tugged at his loose tie, which made it even looser. Anything that went around his head was uncomfortable. Must be the scarred memories of Ami swinging from his neck all the time. The techno music blared in his sensitive ears and the fluoro-lights left splotches in his eyes. He sipped a bit more of his drink. It was a watermelon fruit cocktail of some sort. He let the taste wash around his mouth before letting it trickle down his throat.

"_Taichou_, aren't you having fun" Matsumoto was sitting beside him clearly disturbed at the sight of half dressed girls 'shaking their booty' to atrocious music. His ­_fuku- taichou_ was in a black strapless dress and stilettos. Her boobs look like it would rip the seams. And if memory serves him correctly, the drink she was having was called 'sex on the beach'

"No I'm not having fun because it is _not fun._ I have an enormous amount of work to do and have no time for such things as these"

"This, is exactly why I brought you here. So you can forget about work. You do realise that one must take a break from the strain of captain?" She giggled drunkenly and looked like she was about to slide off the chair and hurl on the floor. This was exactly what he hoped she would do so that the bouncer would sweep her out. And since when was there are clubbing venue established in _Seireitei_?

Matsumoto began talking to him once more it all went in one ear and out the other. She yapped and yapped and yapped and it was driving him mad. He had a lot of paper work to do and yet he was here, listening to constant drool from his _Fuku-taichou_.

The beat of the music changed and so did the lights. They flickered every second on and off, slowing every ones' movement down to the eye. The music came on to be a sort of rap and hip-hop. It didn't sound too bad to his ears. In fact, it was better than those alpha-rhythm beats that burned his sensitive ears and which he often heard from the _Shinigami_ thugs beat-boxing down the streets.

His eyes caught a flash of bright red. It as so quick he had to crane his neck to see what he had missed. His eyes trailed to where she was going, which was the dance floor. He scanned from the silk red dress all the way up to her cleavage. He couldn't help but stare at the way her body moved like a water snake.

Sakura. As he identified. Her eyes glistened with joy and she rocked with her dance partner for the night. Their hips grinded and melded together in sync with the upbeat music.

'_**It's her, master'**_

Hitsugaya didn't bother to reply to his _Zanpakutou_. He was much too entranced at the dancer in his line of vision.

Her hips swayed to the beat of the music. She weaved in and out of the sea of bodies that danced and swerved to in unison. Only hers stood out.

"Taichou? Are you listening? Hello there!" Matsumoto waved her hands in front of his eyes until he snapped back. He blink his eyes a couple of times before returning his attention to her for only a few seconds.

"You seem out of it tonight. I just called you short 3 times and you didn't do anything! At all!" Matsumoto waited for a response but she received none. She looked worriedly at her _taichou,_ as he seemed to be caught in his thoughts as his eyes stared what seemed to her was longingly into the crowd. _'Does he want to do paperwork that bad?'_ obviously she misinterpreted his behaviour.

"I'm gonna be right back" with that, Hitsugaya took one last gulp of his cocktail before he merged in with the sea of all-night ravers. The busty _fuku-taichou_ watched him go and see what it was that captured his attention so badly.

I knowing smile spread across her face as she finally realised what his attention was directed at. _'Well, can't blame him if he wants to dance away with such a beautiful girl'_ she stared in awe as her _taichou_ looked like he was really breaking it down with a rosette haired girl wearing a red halter dress._ 'What strange hair colour… is it dyed? And when did taichou learn how to dance like that!'_ he was no longer an innocent boy!

She shook her head. He was really growing up her little _taichou_. It was just too bad he was hooked and chained up with such a creature like Ami. He deserved a _life_ for all she knew. Matsumoto twisted her strawberry locks between her red painted fingernails. She was so glad he had taken interest in another girl. She has GOT to be way better than the bitch.

'_Now where in the hell did Renji, Kira and Shuuhei go…?'_ She stood up to go search for her drinking partners but spotted someone sitting on the other side of the bar instead. She's never seen him before. He had a mess of silver- grey hair with black roots at the nape of his neck _'must be a bad dye job'_ she concluded. I'll look for them later was what she decided.

She strolled over to him; there was something about his that caught her attention. Was it because he looked bored in a rave club? Or was it the gorgeous eyes that concentrated on his drink? Whatever it was, she wanted to meet him!

When she got there, she pulled up a stool and propped her head on her hands. She batted her lashed demurely at him as he twisted his head to look at her. Her overbearing breast showed a massive load of cleavage, which was the first thing he saw. He full read lips pulled into a soft smirk.

"Buy me a drink stranger?"

"Sure, what are you having, doll?" his smooth voice carried a sense of ease, like he was used to that speech. She noticed his eyes were a vibrant shade of violet and she couldn't help but stare into the drawing depths.

"Whatever you're having I guess"

"Are you sure? You might wanna pick something else" He chuckled deeply. Rangiku twisted herself fully to face him and gave him a smouldering look '_He thinks I can't handle it eh?'_ her lips turned into a slight smile instead.

"It's alright, just whatever you're drinking"

"Well, then I suggest you try it first" He lifted the glass deftly up to her lips. Not once his gaze left her cool grey eyes. It was a flat martini glass with just clear liquid with a cherry, sunken at the bottom. He tipped the glass further and watched as she sipped it slowly. Not before long she let out a rasping gasp and coughed a roughly. He pulled back the glass, careful not to let any spill. Her face was contorted like she sucked a huge lemon.

He let out a chuckle at the cute way she was massaging her throat and was trying to draw breath into her lungs once more.

"How can you drink that stuff!" she yelled at him. That horrid thing burned down her throat as it made way into her body. Its bitter alcoholic taste practically stripped her tastebuds to shred. Her throat became so incredibly dry she could hardly breathe. This was definitely not healthy. And was DEFINITELY not _sake_

And there he was, sipping it calmly like some common drink. He swallowed it and let out a contented sigh. "Like water".

"God, thank god I tried it first"

"Now your liver is gonna hate ya forever"

"What is it called anyway?" she asked.

He tilted the glass this way and that and peered at her over the rim.

"_Ryuu__dokueki_"

"Dragon venom? That doesn't exist anymore"

"It's only the name of the drink. Yes, people can die from drinking it, like a 4th squad member, you perhaps…" he tilted the glass slightly to her "were one of the lucky ones"

"I'll just settle for ice tea thanks" Matsumoto grumbled and turned away. She had a feeling that he was being sarcastic or maybe he was undermining her intelligence.

"Bartender!"

Somewhere behind the bar was a figure that seemed to come out of the dark shadows. He was immediately at the patrons bidding. Matsumoto concluded that he didn't like this job as a bartender or a cocktail mixer by the looks of his eyes. He looked like he needed sleep badly from the way his eye bags stretched all around his jade eyes.

His unruly hair reminded her of Renji's hair colour. Blood red and the _Ai_ tattoo on his forehead looked cool.

"Yes?" he said in a long drawl.

"Lemon ice tea, thanks Gaara"

He disappeared back into the depths of the shadows to mix a Lemon ice tea. Matsumoto leant away from the strange man a little, fearing his dullness would rub off on her.

"You know him?" she swivelled facing him.

"Yeah, he works at the same place I work"

"Where's that?"

"_Shinigami _Academy" he leant over the bench top and over his drink, looking at her.

"So you're a teacher!" she clapped her hands together, ecstatic that she knew a little more about this Kinomoto Katsuya.

"You can say that"

A tall glass filled with a yellow-brown liquid was placed between her and Katsuya. It was her Lemon ice tea.

"Enjoy" said 'Gaara' in a monotone voice.

Matsumoto piked up the glass delicately and stirred it around with her long spoon that came with it. Her strawberry tresses dangled along her shoulder like silk. She looked up at the man beside her through dark lashes and cleared her throat. He merely turned his eyes, not his heads towards her.

"This _is_ ordinary lemon ice tea, right?" she questioned.

Katsuya gave a deep chuckled before nodding. "Yeah, it is"

* * *

Sakura had danced with many partners in the heat of the floor. Whether it was girls, guys, it didn't matter, everyone was dancing. She swayed her hips to the beat of the music and shot deep looks at any man that would stare at her from afar. It was crazy to think she was going to cuddle up in a blanket, grading test papers for god knows how long. She ran her fingers through her hair roughly as a guy winked at her from a lounge. She was glad Ino had invited her.

**CRAZY DOG (Big Bang) (Korean song)**

_Let's do it again uh let's do it again I said  
Let's do it again bigbang let's do it again  
Let's do it again like_

"Hey, hotshot. Allow me to rock your ass to the ground?" Sakura pressed her bottom to whoever said that. She twisted her head to face a handsome young man. His eyes shined with desire as he looked deeply into her eyes. The way his body moved against her from the back suggested that he was going to do more than rock her ass to the ground.

Sakura gave a wicked smile as she in turn twisted around and pasted her body onto the man's. She wrinkled her nose form the strong cologne coming from his neck. His black sweater looked like it needed a good wash from the many drink stains.

"Sorry buddy, but this ass is taken" she huskily whispered into his ear. She pulled way from him and danced sensually towards another figure that had just entered the fluoro- lights of the dance floor.

_Momul mathgyoyo bunwihil bakkwoyo  
jwauro hunduro noui ongdongirul hunduro  
urinun crazy dog everybody in the place go ho~  
everybody in the place go ho  
everybody in the place go_

_Hey hey girl what you want for me (ma)  
seroun segyero come here (ma)  
madbojimothan tugbyorhan (mad) nol wihe junbihessuni  
gidarigo gidaridon uridulmane shi (gan)  
amumal ma ildan barul duryo (nwa)  
duro oltten nimam nagaltten nemam nunulgama  
ne morissoge hyushigul jultheni_

"Fancy seeing you in a place like this, Hitsugaya _taichou_" Sakura hooked her leg around the other man as he lifted that leg and pulled her close.

"One needs to unwind every now and then" He spoke.

He wore an extremely casual suit. His dress shirt hung out creased and wrinkled and his jacket was a dark grey colour. She ran her hair through his tresses and tugged a little. Her fingers ran to the smooth silk tie that hung loosely from his neck and his eyes bore into hers as he burned every sensation from her that he felt into his mind. Her weakness…loose ties were sexy.

She led him across the floor, right under the disco ball. She danced freely, seductively. He could tell she was passionate by nature as she danced with anyone that came up to her, girl and guy alike. She was here to have fun.

"Aren't you worried that your fiancé is gonna find you here?"

"No. I couldn't care less".

Time to kick it up a notch. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her tight against him. He moved to the beat with her, making her lean back against him. He pressed her back against him as he moved to the beat, grinding her against him as he lightly sang to the song.

_I bamun nomu giro so get down  
weroun saram modu negerowa  
ridume momulshiro hamkke dallyobose ja songkhum songkhum dagawabwa_

_[hook]  
Hands up go hands up go hands up  
Let's go let's go oh oh oh  
(Rock ya'll we gonna this party)  
Hands up go hands up go hands up let me say oh oh oh_

"I'm surprised you know this song" Sakura said. "Not many people listen to Korean songs here"

"I'm not like most people" Hitsugaya observed her every move to the core. She put her hands up in the air as she danced with him, moving sensuously against him. Their movements complimented each other perfectly as they slowly ground on the dance floor. He could feel the material of his pants getting tighter the longer he danced with her. He held back a groan.

_Hey hey do wanbyoghe bimirun jikhille gunyowaui something  
nan bichul garinun khoten odumul julgilteni bang'em  
nega nugunjinun altego dalkhomhan umseggwa wemo_

_onurun gudemane hero  
non algenni it's the hot in here_

"You know, whether or not you care about your fiancé, you shouldn't fool around with other girls" Sakura whispered in his ear.

"She's not my fiancé" He almost hissed from the heat given off by the many bodies on the dance floor and moved his hands from her hips, so that they were travelling up and down her sides, until they reached her arms. Her arms were above their heads, moving in time with the beat.

_Bamse gurumwirul dallyoboja ollata  
oh ma god I'm so hot nan joha i jolmum da tewo bollanda  
hey hwanghorhan bamul wonheyo hey ganjorhi norul wonheyo hey  
dullini ne shimjangi dugungorimul blahblahblah_

_I bamun nomu giro so get down  
weroun saram modu negerowa  
ridume momulshiro hamkke dallyobose ja songkhum songkhum dagawabwa_

"By law you are" Sakura countered.

He smirked "Like I said, I never got down on one knee to propose. Besides, the law is stupid anyway" The young woman seemed to enjoy running her fingers through his hair enough to leave her body. For a minute, he wondered if she was drunk. His mind went blank, however, when she started shimmying down his body, her curvy behind swaying from his left hip to his right as she practically grounded against him.

_[hook]  
Hands up go hands up go hands up  
Let's go let's go oh oh oh  
(Rock ya'll we gonna this party)  
Hands up go hands up go hands up let me say oh oh oh_

_Momul mathgyoyo bunwigil bakkwoyo  
jwauro hunduro noui ongdongirul hunduro  
urinun crazy dog everybody in the place go ~ho  
everybody in the place go ho~_

_everybody in the place go~_

"I see that you are no longer angry at me now" He spoke heatedly.

Like, a sword strike, she shot straight up stiffly. He blinked in confusion and his head spun from what he just experienced.

"Thanks for reminding me" She sauntered away from him. He felt her heat leave his body and he missed it. _'Isn't she just weird'_ It was fun while it lasted he guessed. He watched as she returned to a table filled with drunk girls as they thrashed around drunkenly._  
_

_[break it down]  
Now movin yo movin just movin b  
To the i the g bang  
Everybody dance now_

_Jolmuniyo i nolbun sesangwiro isangul pyolchyora ttugoun piro  
dangkhyo mathgyo shwijianhgo dallyo moth mallyo do nophi bollyumul kiwo_

Hitsugaya went back to his seat at the bar counter. He was a little pissed off at her sudden decision to stop dancing with him all together but her decided to let her steam a bit. At least he knew he was getting under her skin. He smirked as he thought of her still being angry at him. He thrived on unnerving other people really, be it his cold, icy captain demeanour or just being plain mean.

_C'mon c'mon bolsso momchugin ajig illo  
mogchongi tojyora khuge sori jillo  
yoyoyo put your hands up high big bang in da house_

That woman was certainly interesting.

_I bamun nomu giro so get down  
weroun saram modu negerowa  
ridume momulshiro hamkke dallyobose ja songkhum songkhum dagawabwa_

Sakura made it back to her table to find that her friends were drunk off their asses and are drooling all over the table, totally embarrassing themselves.

"Guess what Sakur…a…a" Sherry looked up with read eyes. "We saw you totally hic, breaking it down with a haaaawt guy just then…!"

"She d-did whaaaat?!" screamed her counter part Ino. She had her arms slung over Tenten who was quietly snoozing away. Obviously she was a quiet drunk. "NO FAIR! Why does sh-sheeeee get to cash in fuuurst!"

"Yep, it was like" she gurgled, "sex on hard wood floor ja!" Sherry shireked behind her hand and the other holding a bottle of _sake._

Sakura rolled her eyes and decided, why not just leaves these three here and just head on home. Besides she felt totally sick from the smell of the place. Though the smell of Hitsugaya-_taichou's _clothing was certainly mesmerising.

These three would be fine no matter how drunk off their asses are. Gaara would just kick them out anyway after a while.

_[hook]  
Hands up go hands up go hands up  
Let's go let's go oh oh oh  
(Rock ya'll we gonna this party)  
Hands up go hands up go hands up let me say oh oh oh_

The song ended to her disappointment. That Korean song was awesome! Really great dance music. She wondered where did Ino find it.

She stumbled out of the venue and start to walk down the street. The dim lights only barely lit the way down town. She passed the many _shinigami_ thugs that were still beat boxing down the road. She flipped her rosette hair out of her face and pulled out a packet of tissues from her hand bag.

"Still angry" A voice echoed some where behind her.

She turned around to come face to face with Hitsugaya of the tenth. He stood laid back with his hands stuffed in his pockets looking cool and bored.

"Not really, you're not getting angry over really"

"Oh, I feel cut"

"You can take it. You're a captain" Sakura smiled at him. He walked towards her and stopped right beside her.

"It's a little dangerous walking home by yourself. I'll walk you" he offered. Hiesteal eyes never left hers as he said this.

"That would be nice, though your fiancé would be home" Sakura pointed out. She remembered the house opposite was where Hitsugaya and Ami resided and heavens forbid if she saw them together out the bedroom window or something.

"Do you think I give a shit?" He raised a delicate brow at her.

"What if she attacks me" She smiled again.

"You're a teacher aren't you? Teach her a lesson" he smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes and decided to let it drop. She was getting tired now. "Come one, lets go" she sighed. She started to walk ahead of him, letting him follow behind.

He shook his head at her and followed suit. What a great thing that she lived opposite him.

* * *

**AHH! Katsuya's back! He's even more mysterious… (I like mysterious guys). Hitsugaya and Sakura are really getting it ON! Spices thing up eh. Think of what Ami would do if she found out… Sakura would die… obviously. **

**How did Hitsugaya learn to dirty dance you say? Well since he is a prodigy, I guess he just copied off the movements from the other dancers in the club. That is a trait of a captain, the must remember heaps of info. Or maybe he has an inner dancer he never let loose. I reckon most guys are good at dancing.**

**Read and REVIEW:: my preeties!**

**Say hi to your mum for me!  
**

**TripWire- dono**


	6. Ami Interruptus

**Hi! I'm back and this time I didn't go on a holiday. So rest assured I'm not lost in translation. Well, here comes more of the Japanese culture that I promised. Thankyou to all my lovely reviewers and those who didn't but read the story continuously.**

**My sister gets credit in the Hitsugaya dialogue. (She is like the walking thing when she wants to be XD) imagine having your very own Hitsugaya sleeping in the same house XDDD.**

**I've decided on some upcoming stories for you lot and I've posted the summary on my profile. Please tell me what you think so that I can prioritise them and decide which to write first. I'd really appreciate it if NO ONE steal my ideas, seriously (looking at you admin- kouhai XD jks). They will be up once I finished this first part of the Trilogy. Yes this is an arc…**

**In the mean time, enjoy!**

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_**Recap:**_

"_It's a little dangerous walking home by yourself. I'll walk you" he offered. His teal eyes never left hers as he said this._

"_That would be nice, though your fiancé would be home" Sakura pointed out. She remembered the house opposite was where Hitsugaya and Ami resided and heavens forbid if she saw them together out the bedroom window or something._

"_Do you think I give a shit?" He raised a delicate brow at her._

"_What if she attacks me" She smiled again._

"_You're a teacher aren't you? Teach her a lesson" he smirked._

_Sakura rolled her eyes and decided to let it drop. She was getting tired now. "Come one, lets go" she sighed. She started to walk ahead of him, letting him follow behind._

_He shook his head at her and followed suit. What a great thing that she lived opposite him._

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 6: Ami Interruptus**

"Karupin! I'm home"

Sakura clambered through the kitchen and grabbed a glass and filled it with tap water. Hitsugaya walked around the familiar living room and just stood beside the _zabuton_ on the floor. He could tell that her house was half Western and half Japanese from the couch, _tatami_, _kotatsu, _and the_ shouji _walls. The only really odd factor was a flat screen TV in the middle of the wall standing on a low table.

He traced his fingers along the top of the back rest of the couch, felling the bumps of the corduroy fabric.

"Where's the damn cat…" Sakura reappeared at the door way of the living room with a white plastic bottle of some sort. Hitsugaya undid his tie and slung it over his shoulders. It was pretty humid, her home. Sakura blinked twice before realising that her escort was still in her house and wasn't leaving.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"Because I don't want to"

"Why not?"

"There's a beast waiting in my home"

"Well you can't very well hide in my house forever" Sakura went over to the door and opened it for him, gesturing for him to scram. She placed her hand on shapely hips, which lengthened to long slender legs. Her brows were creased in an annoyed frown. She agitatedly tapped her slipper-clad feet against the door.

The silver haired _taichou_ merely stood there like he owned the place. He didn't budge a millimetre or moved a single muscle, but stood there, gazing her.

She didn't like that.

"You invited someone in, and its there choice whether they want to leave or not" He trailed his hand along the couch before plonking himself in it like _that_ was his as well.

Sakura gaped at his actions. She huffed over to him and stood in front of him, both hands akimbo.

"Look, I'm asking you nicely and in control as best as I can" Hitsugaya merely looked up from his lazy position and gazed at her.

"I want you to leave because I have to go to work tomorrow and I don't want you here in the morning to tire me out once again or to even to start arguing with you" the pinkette searched his deep orbs for some sign or indication that he understood and empathised with her at all.

Too bad there was none.

"No"

"What do you mean 'n-'!"

Strong arms encircled her waist and dragged her down. Sakura landed with a shriek as she was in laps of the one thing she was trying to rid her house of and the one thing half the female population of Soul Society desire. Her head lifted to yell at him but caught herself in the depths of the teal orbs that seem to engulf her. Her mind swirled with confusion and a new sensation grew in the pit of her stomach and it felt REALLY foreign. Her eyes widen at how close Hitsugaya- _taichou_'s face was to hers. She could almost feel the breath from his mouth… lips slightly apart.

Her arms were trapped against his chest and her legs straddled his hips. He seemed all-calm like this was the most natural thing in the world for him. All he did was stare at her intensely before moving his deft fingers up her sides till it came just almost to the side of her breast.

"Just shut up for a minute" he purred in her ears. His eyes glittered.

Enough was enough.

"Jerk!" She slapped his chest until he released her.

"How dare you!" She threw a brush at his head. "Come here and-" She pelted a cushion at him "And molest me!" She screamed at him.

All through that he dodged each object easily. "AAAAAHHHH!" she dragged him up by the collar of his shirt and stalked towards the door with him flailing around from behind. "And you're ENGAGED too!"

"OUT!" she chucked him onto the (not so) welcome mat she picked up from the real world and slammed the door with a tone of finality.

Hitsugaya groaned as he felt his head swim from the high pitch voice which assaulted his ears. Was it just him, or was it his teeth getting longer. He just bit his tongue from the impact with the rough mat. He pulled himself up and rubbed his head. He brushed whatever dirt that stuck to his shirt and sighed.

This was going to be one rough ride. The young captain glanced at his house from across and then down the street, the house again, and then the street, and the house again.

He headed down the street instead.

Sakura's frame shook all over in rage. How dare he! He trespassed into her bubble and _knew_ it. She slumped against the wall, being careful it wasn't a _shouji_ door.

Realisation slapped her in the face like a wet fish.

_He was a captain of the Gotei13._

He was a _taichou_, meaning he had authority, power, _power to press charges_. She was in deep trouble she knew this and she let herself fly off the handle like that she could never forgive herself. But she certainly didn't regret throwing him out that was for sure. Sakura buried her head her hands and moaned in anguish quietly at her predicament.

Sakura lifted her self off and decide to take a _long, hot steaming shower_, She smelt of alcohol, sweat and other stuff from the club and definitely _him_. All the more reason to scrub till you're red, right?

The sensation still lingered on her body. It was all over her. _'What the hell is happening…' _She shook her head and staggered to the bathroom door. Sakura stripped out of her clubbing attire and turned on the shower full blast. The steam washed over her, cleaning her senses and fogging up the mirror.

'_I have work tomorrow. No point getting dwelling on it now'_

**'_Therefore you must be nice to him'_**

'_Hell no…'_

'_**You must be nice to him'** _Hikari's echoing voice rose a little.

'_Hai, hai. Then maybe he will stop being an ass'_

**'_For once you are being wise'_ **Hikari yawned from the corners of her mind.

'_Shut up'_

_

* * *

  
_

"And that concludes our case study on the many uses of Vyagon blood and I want a 1000 word essay on the effect it had on the _Shinigami Board of Medicine_ and the _Science Research Department_ during the Revolution of Velvet"

Collective moans and groans resounded off the aging walls of the lecture hall. Sakura walked gracefully in her _sensei_ robes to the door and passed out the instruction sheets for the essay to her students.

"Haruno- _sensei,_ I have a question_"_ Sakura turned to her title and watched as a young student clumsily stumbled her way towards, almost tripping on the smooth floor and toppling her books.

"Umm, will-will we need evidence from the archives to support our findings of the Board?"

"Of course, Michi-_san_. You always need backup in every essay to support your views"

Sakura made sure to shut the door after the bustling students as they piled into the corridors, successful in dimming the noise. She pulled the blinds down from the windows, getting ready to clean and then lockup the room.

The dust kicked up from the many specimen shelves that lined the walls as she ran a white cloth along the top. She sniffed as it tickled her nostrils slightly. A booming knock from the big sliding door echoed around the hall.

"The door isn't locked!"

The grate of the door sliding to the left was also the loudest in the room. A little head peeked out from behind the door and next the whole body revealed itself.

She wore matching _sensei_ robes.

"Are you ready to go yet? Yamanaka and Nara are waiting"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I won't be going shopping tomorrow. I have a part time shift to do at the Fourth Division." Sakura went over to Sherry and slapped the piece of cloth in the box, which she found it in.

"A part time at the fourth division?" Sherry tugged on her sleeve as she watched Sakura flipped roughly through some paper before concluding whether she wanted to take it with her or not.

"Yep" She heaved the folders and boxes into the storeroom. "I just organised it with Unohana-_taichou_ last week. It starts tomorrow, bright and early and I'm gonna be taking _shinigamis'_ physicals"

"Alright then. Smart idea, that one. At least you get to be on the practical side" a grin lightened Sherry's pale face.

"It's not like you don't do anything practical in your class" Sakura scoffed.

"It's just theory for the first half of the term. Then next we're gonna cut up a toad" Sherry held out her friends bag. Sakura rolled her eyes and took it and made her way to the door, the other teacher following suit.

"I'll tell Yamanaka, Hinata, Winry and Tenten" Sherry smiled.

"Seriously, Why don't you ever call Ino by her first name? Well, not that it's conventional. But still, wouldn't you feel comfortable to since your culture does"

"Well, in our culture we still refer to people with last names too, but that's more respect-wise. But for some, it's for the purpose of disrespect" (T/W: You know, how Draco calls Harry by his surname and Harry the same with Draco) Sherry skipped along with Sakura, as they were about to meet with Ino and Shikamaru.

"So you call Shikamaru, _'Nara'_ with respect and call Ino, _'Yamanaka'_ with _disrespect_?"

"Hit the nail on the head"

"And I noticed you rarely call anyone –_san"_

"Do I need a reason to?"

"Guess not"

"So have you seen more of _him_ lately?"

"Him who?"

"Him _hauptmann_"

"Captain? Hitsugaya_-taichou_?

"_Ja_"

Sakura recalled the night with that silver haired man. Should she tell? Should she _not_ tell? Sherry she didn't think was the type to gossip. To tell or not to tell, that was the question. The feeling of his fingers came back to her sides and she spasmed slightly and bit her lip.

Her fellow teacher stopped in her tracks. Sakura's hesitation was more than enough the answer.

Sherry dug into her many pockets and fished around for something. She pulled out of her sleeve what appeared to be a packet of salted peanuts. She tugged the pack open with a satisfied smile and tipped some into her mouth joyously and munched away.

"Still keep those with you huh?" the footsteps of the two close teachers echoed off the deserted corridors now since the students were long gone and probably partying in their dorms for the end of the week. Did they love their Saturdays and Sunday that badly?

"I know you're avoiding answering the question and yeah, just can't get used to Japanese food. They're so blaaaaaand~" Sherry cocked a grin in her friends direction.

"But you're nuts about _dango_" Sakura poked her shoulder.

The Elric teetered for a bit before answering. "I'm ready to adopt it as a German food"

"What would it be called?"

"_Reisk__nödel"_

"Uhhhh, leave it Japanese"

They were now close to the entrance of the school and there waiting were the for-mentioned people. Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino.

"What took you guys so long!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up, Ino. _Mendokusai…_" Shikamaru pushed off the wall and dragged his feet out, not waiting for the girls to follow. Just away from the banshee he called 'a friend'

"I had to clean up my classroom, Ino pig"

"No excuses Sakura" her nose turned towards a distinctive smell. "Urgh, I can't stand the sight of those knobbly peanuts and did I ever mention the smell?"

"Watch it, princess" Sherry smiled threateningly.

Sakura could've sworn they were the best of friends at some point in time. She didn't know whether they knew it or not, or whether they are or not. She smiled. Sakura could've guessed that they only teased each other because that was their way of showing affection or at least communicating.

"Is there something wrong Sakura?" Shikamaru slowed his pace down since the two Banshees sped up and were within his inner earshot.

"Nothing. Just watching those two. You know, in all our years of teaching, Sherry has never, ever called Ino by her first name _even once_"

"So?"

"Knock it off you two! God, I can also hear you down the bloody street! You sound like a banshee in a bear-trap"

"Edward?" Sakura lifted her head at the sight of her fellow teacher emerging from the corner. His face was contorted in agony and he rubbed his brows tiredly. His impatient eyes told her that he was not happy and was late for something and Sherry and Ino were pouring more oil into the flames.

"_Baka!"_

"_Dummkopf!"_

"Hey Sakura, Shikamaru"

"What are you doing here Edward-_san_?" asked Shikamaru.

"Running an errand for Winry. You know, She can be one scary crocodile if she doesn't get her _ramen_"

"So Winry is addicted to that now huh?" Sakura chuckled at her friend's hardship of gathering the necessary food to keep his girlfriend happy.

"Yeah…" sighed Edward.

"You still have that retarded German accent!"

"At least I know more Japanese vocabulary than you!"

"ALRIGHT! That's enough! Do you want to go drinking or not?" Shikamaru barked at Sherry and Ino who were almost at each other's throat. They immediately released eachother and stalked solemnly on either side of Sakura who rightfully sweatdropped.

"I'll catch you guys later in a bit. Seeya!" Edward jogged off down the street.

"Bye Ed-_kuuuuuun_" Ino blew him a kiss.

"Stay away from by bro, Pig"

"Well, well, well"

The group stopped in their tracks as they are confronted by the one thing everyone wished to avoid.

The Dragon Lady.

Ami walked slowly and deliberately towards them and cocked out her hips. Sakura narrowed her eyes but stood stone still. Sherry growled low in her throat. Ino looked absolutely livid. Shikamaru clearly sighed and muttered a _mendokusai_ under his breath.

"What was that, boy?" Ami darted her piercing eyes in Shikamaru's direction. He scratched the back of his head and stroked his stiff pony tail before answering.

"Nothing you'd wanna know"

"Good"

"Listen, we don't want any trouble ok? We just want to have an evening drink together and just enjoy the night away. So please let us through" Sakura stepped forward.

"No, no, no. I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, we need to talk first" Ami walked closer to Sakura and her friends before stopping a breath away. She snarled into her face and pressed closer.

"Look bitch, I don't know who you think you are, but let me make this straight. Stay away from Toushirou. He's mine and always will be"

Shikamaru held back Ino's fist and shook his head. She snatched it out of his wrist and huffed away. It was Sakura's fight.

"You filthy _shinigami_ are not worthy of someone his calibre and never will be. You don't deserve him and he's definitely out of your league" Ami stood back and puffed her chest and watched Sakura's reaction.

The only thing she was surprised was the smirk that was upon Sakura's lips.

"Well, when you say calibre, do you mean as a _Vyagon_?"

Ami widened her eyes in shock.

"How did…"

"I have my sources"

Sherry grinned in the background.

"Well look here Ami, it is Hitsugaya_-taichou's_ choice who deserves him or not and you don't get a say in it! Got it? If he continues to want to hang around me and so FINE! He can. You can't stop him because it's his choice. By the way, he hates you"

Sakura stood back also to see the damage she made.

"Why you insignificant little!—" Ami reared up and swung her arms up to deliver a thrashing blow across Sakura's face but she caught it in time and twisted it around.

Ami shrieked before lashing out at her. Something was wrong. She noted that that Sakura's fist was collecting some green energy from somewhere. It felt slightly different from _reiatsu_. More unusual. A cloud of green mist swirled around her fist and was spiralling towards her. Ami yanked away to dodge it but it stopped.

"Shikamaru!"

"Stop it. Remember what Katsuya said?" he held tightly onto Sakura's clenched hand. The emerald mist dissipated quickly and he pulled it behind her back. She growled at him for defying her the right to pulverise the little bitch.

"Hai…"

The dragon lady, heaved and drew breath in desperately and shot her a deathly glare before seething her words.

"This isn't over, _shinigami_"

With that she leapt onto the buildings and raced off into the night.

"Why did you do that for?" Ino whined. "I wanted to see some justice right then and there!"

"And I wanted some part in the action" Sherry whined also beside her.

"This isn't the time and place to so this. Technically, you shouldn't have done that at all" He directed the second part of his sentence to Sakura. He had already released her hand and she was now massaging it.

"She was asking for it!" Sakura gritted her teeth.

"And then you give it to her? Come, on Sakura. You know better than that"

The group proceeded into the bar but their spirits were at an all time low.

"You know what would happen if the other _shinigamis_ were to find out, don't you?"

"_Hai_" the girls chorused.

The waiter came and served them their _sake_ and left in a hurry to tend to other customers.

"Good. Now _kampai!_"

"Cheers!"

* * *

**AH! Two more characters have arrived and they are our very own Naruto casts. Don't you miss them now? I noticed that the chapters _seem_ slow now since wow, 6 chapters. But I wanna stretch this arc to about 20-30 chapters. Hey, the longer the better right? Well, that is if you're not sick of the story right now. I now the feeling how you're sad when a story ends.**

**This Chapter was originally combined with the next chapter, chapter 7. But then I chopped it in half. SO YOU LUCKY BUGGERS COULD'VE HAD 2 CHAPTERS IN ONE GO!! But then again I kept you waiting… gomen.**

**::Read and Review:: my darlings! Tell me what you think about Katusya, Yura and Sherry, my very own OCs. Been about for two years  
**

**Over and out!**

**TripWire- dono**


	7. The Whole and Complete Physical

**This is a corny name for a chapter I know… But you are gonna be in for it now because it gets HOTTER! In a professional medical fashion of course^^**

**I was accidentally ignoring the HitsuSaku factor until I was reminded IT'S A HITUSAKU FIC!! So I had to rewrite this chapter and I hate to say this… DELETE SINGLE THING EVERYTHING THAT HAD TO DO WITH KATSUYA TO MAKE ROOM FOR HITSUGAYA AND SAKURA.**

**Cheers.**

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**Chapter 4: The Whole and Complete Physical**

"_Taichou_, you have a letter from Unohana-_taichou_."

"I swear, if it's another a _request_ to come for a physical, tear it up and burn it"

The cotton ball captain busied himself with more requisition reports, not even looking up to meet his _fuku-taichou's_ eyes. He already knew what was written in that letter, just like all the other letters.

_Hitsugaya- taichou,_

_You know it's inevitable._

_Unohana-taichou._

He swore, all captains were freaks and he knew that included him. His jade eyes darkened at the blobs of _hiragana _and _kanji_ in from of him. Didn't he just sign that three times?

"_Taichou_, the only way to stop receiving more letters is to just go to the bloody physical!" Matsumoto slammed her hands on his desk, shaking it and whatever articles that was upon it.

"You're messing up the paperwork!" He growled. Now that he was more mature, he looked more threatening to other _Shinigamis_. His growl was more pronounced, he looked more older, stronger, had more mood swings, and his teeth looked damn sharper.

But none of that made a difference for Matsumoto.

She sighed and placed her hands right above her heart and threw her head to the side like a broken lover and crumpled her knees slightly.

"I knew it would have to come to this…"

"Huh?" he met her riddled answer with a suspicious glance.

It was too late. All he can see now were two, large, round orbs accelerating at a maximum speed towards him and then it was black. He choked on his saliva at the rich coconut scent that invaded his nostrils.

Matsumoto hugged him.

"GRAAAAH GERDOFFFA MEEEERH!!!" Hitsugaya roared and kicked his desk and tried to wrench her arms from her suffocating arms. But all was in vain. Too much, too much, he couldn't draw a single thread of breath.

Matsumoto didn't need to reply. She chuckled, all she had to do was wait till his limbs stoped moving and it would all be over. Any second now… the cease of noise and muffled yelling signalled to her that the deed was done. The body flopped in her arms and she stopped herself from falling onto the desk. Wouldn't want to disorganise a sheet on the table would she?

"That took a while ne?" Matsumoto gently released the body from her grasp and proceeded to shout for a neighbouring _shinigami_. "Ne? _Taichou_?"

Nothing.

"Don't you think it's time to visit Unohana-_taichou_ now?"

Nothing.

"What's that _taichou_? You want to go? Righto!"

"What is it Matsumoto-_fukutaichou?_" that _shinigami_ then shrieked at the sight of his unconscious captain, sprawled at an odd angle on the floor. He wavered as he gave his lieutenant a questioning glance at this odd predicament.

"Did Ami-_san_ finally get to him?" he asked with so much worry in his voice.

"Ah, no, no. He's just due in for a physical he has been avoiding for a while" She replied.

"Yes, I see, he looks extremely pale" The _shinigami_ lifted the KO'ed captain and swung one arm over his shoulders and then Matsumoto swung the other over hers.

"Yeah, it's low blood pressure that's all" Matsumoto feigned a dramatically sad face, complete with a sigh.

"Low blood pressure with that much stress?"

"He's just funny in his own way"

"_H-hai fukutaichou…_"

The two transported their 'low pressurised' captain to the fourth division where the gentle woman was waiting patiently by the entrance gate; obviously she knew he would be arriving.

"Hanatarou, please escort them into the Captains' Wards and help prepare Hitsugaya-_taichou_ for his long- overdue physical" Unohana's words drifted with their usual serenity.

"_Hai!_"

* * *

He felt light and dreary. At the same time he wanted to throw-up. He hadn't felt this way since Ami tried to make _yakitori_ but used sheep instead of the bloody chicken!

His arms felt heavy and his leg won't function and all her could hear was the drumming of his own ears. He couldn't see, just the blurry images netting his eyes.

Where was he? How did get here…

'_Matsumoto…'_

He yelped at the slap of something warm and wet on his face.

"Ah! Good morning Hitsugaya_-taichou!_ I hope you are feeling better and…"

"Where are my clothes?" Hanatarou was cut off and stopped and stared for a moment before his lips curved up into a tired smile.

"Your clothes are safe and have been placed in a special locker room. Instead you are issued only your pants" Hanatarou placed the warm towel back into its bowl since the dazed captain no longer required it.

He was right. He was topless. He really did feel naked without his captain's _haori_.

"Unohana and Matsumoto are in on this aren't they?" A strained brow graced his features at the thought of being tricked and dragged to take the damn medical test.

"_Ano_, I don't understand…" Hanatarou's eye bags grew larger in his confusion.

"Hm? I'm sorry, I was just thinking to myself" Hitsugaya got up and swung his leg over the side. He rubbed his silver tresses in annoyance and gave a final sigh. Let's just get this thing over and done with, he thought. It was the only rational way to stop the insistent pestering from the medical captain after all. And he was a rational person, right?

"The doctor will be right with you, Hitsugaya-_taichou_"

"Hn"

Shortly after, he heard the twisting of the knob and the click of high heels as they kicked the door shut. He went and sat on the examining table and bent his head low as not to really startle what ever fan girl or fan boy (A/N: fan boy with high heels? o. O) that was gonna drool throughout the examination. He hoped it was a male doctor.

"Good Morning Hitsugaya-_taichou_, I will be your doctor for today"

He knew that voice anywhere.

Haruno Sakura has returned

His head lifted up to meet the eyes of the one thing that was haunting his mind. Her smile looked fake enough and she had her eyes closed on purpose.

'_Tricky'_

"You can call me doctor Haruno"

"Yes, doctor"

She then finally opened her eyes and instead avoided his altogether! She shifted her back to him and picked up a stethoscope on the table and placed it around her neck.

'_How amusing'_

"I though you were an academy teacher?" he asked.

"Yes I am. I also work at the 4th Division as part time"

"I see"

Sakura placed the folder back down onto the table and picked up her stethoscope and placed it around her swan like neck.

"Alright, first, I'm going to check your breathing and heart rate. So sit up straight and exhale and inhale deeply when I tell you to"

Even though his head didn't move, his eyes followed her like fireflies as she tried to walk calmly behind him. The hair on the nape of her neck stood on end at his icy _reiatsu_ emitting form his body.

'_Be nice, be nice, be nice, be nice, be professional, be professional. I was once a medical Nin, breeeeeeeeeathe…'_

She pushed away any unwanted thoughts as she placed her stethoscope on his toned back, the very back that girls can only imagine and here she didn't need to. It was tanned too! She could hear his laughter even though it was deathly quiet.

"Inhale and exhale slowly"

So he did. She noticed it came out in waves of extremely soft purring from the way it vibrated against the instrument. It wasn't like a cat purring, it was more like a _lion_ purring.

_A dragon purring_.

Sakura shifted the stethoscope directly behind his heart, hearing the thick beating. The hypnotic sound echoed clearly in strange time with his breathing. If only it could lull her to sleep now, she would deeply appreciate it.

"Am I done inhaling and exhaling yet?"

"Huh?"

Hitsugaya expertly twisted his body around, his muscles flexing underneath like ripples in the pond. His eyes were upon her again and this time she got to see the smirk. He reached forward and took the end of the stethoscope and spoke into it.

"Am I done inhaling and exhaling yet?" he said once again.

Since a stethoscope is designed to magnify sound about 30 times, to her, his voice was 30 times sexier.

She grimaced and snatched it back and stiffly walked in front of him. He turned with her and leant back on his arms, clearly exposing more of his skin and muscles to her.

Though it was only for a spilt second. Her wide emerald orbs leered hungrily at his toned, godlike body. His upper torso was in the right proportion and narrowed down to his lean waist, which harboured a 6 pack. From his face to the hip, he was tanned! As if they had the equal amount of sun, like a surfer. His shoulders were still quiet lean and lanky but definitely strong, since he is still in the prime of his teens. But in due time… oh boy, in due time.

'_Be professional, be professional, be professional, I was a respected doctor and I'll always will be. Medical thoughts, medical thoughts. AHH STUFF IT!'_

"Yes, now say, ahhh"

"Aaaaaa--AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

She shoved a tongue depressor into his mouth and jerked it down, almost choking him in the process. She inspected the back of his throat and almost laughed at the convulsion and the tightening of it. His laboured breathing told her he was uncomfortable. Good. She can hear the squeak of the table from the desperate grip the surprised _taichou_ had on it.

"Nothing wrong here. Absolutely perfect"

Sakura flipped her head back and threw the piece of wood in the bin. She turned her back to the silver haired prodigy and towards the cabinet to get ready for the next part of the test. Sakura didn't need to look, she knew his was doubled over, huffing and puffing and massaging his throat.

She started to whistle a soft tune for about a couple of seconds.

"Uh huh…"

Sakura placed the clipboard back on the table after recording her results and proceeded to take something out of the cabinet.

"Now I need you to stand on this to measure your weight"

She tapped the scales with her foot to make sure it was still working.

"'Kay"

She recorded the results. He got off the apparatus and stood to the side of the door casually.

"Good, and now your height"

He frowned. Even though he knew he was much taller that he was back then. He was still a little sensitive about his height. Hitsugaya sighed and stalked over to where Sakura indicated and firmly pressed his back against the wall. Sakura pulled a metal like bar from the height measurer and rested it on top of his head, making sure to flatten his hair in order to get his ACCURATE height.

She smiled and recorded the result.

"Have I grown?"

"You must have, people don't look down on you anymore"

That cut.

"Speak for yourself, shrimp"

"It's ok for me to be short because I'm a girl"

"So? It doesn't mean anything"

"Of course it does! It suits me"

He rolled his eyes.

"AH! No peeking!" Sakura pushed his face away from a failed attempt to rightfully look at his weight and height. Where's democracy?

"I got a right to. It's my body"

"You'll have it mailed to you in a week or 2"

"Will you be personally delivering it?" He cocked a crooked smile.

"Nah. I will be on active duty for the school" Sakura tapped his bare chest with her pen and walked back to the desk with the clipboard. She came back soon afterwards.

"Here, gum on this" Sakura stuck a thermometer in Hitsugaya's mouth. This time he was more prepared. He crossed his eyes to stare at the protruding object in his mouth. "And I need to check your pulse too. Please give me your right hand"

"Sure" she shook away her sleeve to reveal her Snoopy watch she received as a present form the "Real World"

After about 30 seconds, Sakura took away the thermometer and retrieved the clipboard. Once again, Hitsugaya was forbidden to peek at his results.

"Do you experience hair loss?"

"Huh?"

"Do you experience hair loss?" Sakura repeated again but more slowly.

"No…" he gave her a weird questioning look. Would a patient really tell her 'yes' anyway? He watched her tick something on the clipboard.

"I'm gonna check your eyes now and I need to turn off the lights"

'_Goodie'_ thought Hitsugaya.

She didn't actually 'turn it off', but more like dimmed it slightly. Apparently, there were many light switches on the wall to choose from.

'_Good enough'_ he thought.

Sakura took his head in her hands and bent it back slightly. She concentrated her ophthalmoscope (a lighted instrument used to examine the eyes) onto his right eyes. It almost took her forever to tear her eyes away from his vibrant, teal one, which stared back at her with an amused look.

What was strange about it was that the pupil wasn't the usual circular formation. But his came out as slight slits. It was hardly noticeable, but it was there. Slits like a reptile.

She could feel the heat reaching her cheeks and she thanked the instrument for shining the light on _him_ instead of her. She proceeded with as much difficulty with his left one.

"A-alright" Sakura went to record the result, not forgetting to turn back on the lights.

A deep chuckle emitted from the examining table and it came out as rumbles. God she wanted to slap him.

She came back and pushed his head roughly to the side.

"Hey!"

"I need to check your ears now" She grounded out.

"What ever happened to the Hippocratic Oath?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not an official doctor, just a nurse doing her shift"

"What about being a decent human being?" he stared at her again from the corner of his eyes.

Her only response was shoving the otoscope (the thing doctors shines light in your ear to check it) in his ears roughly as well. He gave an annoyed grunt.

"I'm gonna tell on you to Hippocrates" he said sarcastically.

"You do that"

She recorded the inside of both his ears to the clipboard as well.

"Right, now you need to…" She pulled out a little plastic jar from her pocket with a yellow lid.

"Urinate in this" She held the jar between the thumb and forefinger. She beamed alike a girl advertising coffee of TV and smiled a winning grin. She tosses him the jar and sashayed towards the adjoining bathroom and held out the door for him.

Hitsugaya, not making an effort to hold back his annoyed look, stalked into the bathroom.

"If you need any help…" Sakura shook a bottle of water in his face.

"No thanks"

Minutes passed and the captain re-emerged from the bathroom and handed the jar of urine to the Sakura. She carefully placed it in a zip-locked bag, ready to be tested the next day.

"Now I'll need to siphon out some blood"

He blanched "What?"

"I need to take some blood samples" Sakura tested the needle if it worked first and then grabbed the piece of rubber string.

"Why?"

"To test"

"Who's going to do it? Will it be a normal 4th division member?"

"Umm, no. Why are you asking these silly questions?"

Hitsugaya protectively pulled his arms back beyond Sakura's reach. She frowned at his ridiculous behaviour. _'What's his problem? Don't tell me he's afraid of needles or something'_

"Unohana-_taichou_ will" she replied.

"…Ok" he hesitantly held out his right arm and Sakura tied the rubber string around his bicep before pricking the needle into his skin and drawing out some rich, oxygenated blood. When she finished, she gave an almighty sigh and started packing up all the equipment left about.

"Why can't I just look at the results now" he asked.

"The rules says no"

"Pretty please?"

"No can do-" Sakura found her self backed up against the shelf filled with specimen bottles and her nosed almost touching the chest of a topless, physically examined captain. The only thing that separated them was the clipboard that held all the desired information. Sakura wanted to yell and slap him for misconduct but her words were stuck in he throat. He looked down on her from a frightening height.

"Your engaged" was the only squeaked sound she was able to release.

He raised a delicate brow and huffed a sigh. "By heart, no" he said. He made a move to raise his hands towards her sides as she tried to press back onto the shelf; not caring of anything fell and broke.

His actions were stopped short when the opening of the door signified a close end.

"Excuse me Haruno-_san_, Unohana-_taichou_ would like- OH MY GOODNESS! I AM SO SORRY!!"

Sakura and Hitsugaya were both greeted by the embarrassed and flustered face of Hanatarou. His mouth was gaping like a fish and his face as red as tomatoes. Obviously, he thought he interrupted something 'extremely private' and certainly 'sacred' activity between the bare chested Hitsugaya and the cornered Haruno.

"Hanatarou! It's not what you think-!" But it was too late, he already bolted out of the room, screaming apologies and forgiveness all the down the corridor until he was out of the division. All that was left was the pile of black clothes, dumped on the floor. He had the intention of delivering the clothes to Hitsugaya when he was done with the physical.

"Let your guard down" Hitsugaya took that opportunity to snatch the clipboard from Sakura's grasp and quickly scanned through his results.

"HEY! That was uncalled for!" Sakura jumped and snatched it away and stuffed into a drawer and securely locked it. But it was too late, he memorised everything.

"Now that we are all done doctor. I'd like to return to my division and continue my paperwork" he tried to suppress a triumphant smirk and Sakura wished he was better at hiding it.

"Yes! Yes! Whatever! Go!" She was ready to pull out her pink hair and split each strand in half. She was almost this close to losing her insanity over a dumb physical. She wanted to beat him up. Badly.

"Until we meet again" Hitsugaya picked up the uniform that Hanatarou dropped upon entering and smoothed it out and fitted it around his frame before leaving.

* * *

**Maa, maa. I reckon this chapter ain't bad. I'm sorry if there wasn't any Katsuya goodness in here since I just found out he was quiet popular around you ladies… and guys. THAT I wasn't expecting.^^ I promise that there will be more of him and Yura later, but only time will tell.**

**I'M NOT SPOILING ANYTHING! But I will warn you. BE CAREFUL OF THOSE TWO. That's all I could say.**

**BTW, did anyone pick up any foreshadowing of the physical?? Did anyone remember the little talk Hitsugaya and Unohana had about it in previous chapters?? Did anybody go "Aha! It's gonna be Sakura at the middle of the chapter?? If you did, you get Hitsugaya blood sample! Errrr…**

**If you Review, I'll tell you Hitsugaya-_taichou's_ medical results!**

**Until we meet again!**

**TripWire- dono**


	8. Lies

**OK! This is why it took too long to update: I originally wrote up the 8****th**** chapter at my friend's house and she keeps forgetting to send it to me! So now I have to write it up again! DX DAMN YOU ALYSON LEGASPI!!! Now you're taking up my holiday time when I should be working on my 9****th**** CHAPTER not my 8****th**** Chapter (again). Well here it is and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!**

**I have posted an image of Katsuya that I've drawn onto DeviantArt website. The link is provided on my profile page.**

**PS: there's Katsuya in the chappie! XD kyaaaa!**

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_Recap:_

_  
__"Now that we are all done doctor, I'd like to return to my division and continue my paperwork" he tried to suppress a triumphant smirk and Sakura wished he was better at hiding it._

"_Yes! Yes! Whatever! Go!" She was ready to pull out her pink hair and split each strand in half. She was almost this close to losing her insanity over a dumb physical. She wanted to beat him up. Badly._

"_Until we meet again" Hitsugaya picked up the uniform that Hanatarou dropped upon entering and smoothed it out and fitted it around his frame before leaving._

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**Chapter 8 (again): Lies**

It was relatively calm in the school boarding house, but it normally doesn't last far long, no matter how much the time drags on in the classes or in the lunch breaks and free periods, there always seem to be the stab of frustration coming from the principal's office, one way or another.

"Yes that's what I said... will he be available? Yes? No? Alright… Kinomoto Katsuya, principal of the Seireitei Academy… no _Katsuya_, not _Gatsuya_…"

The sound of the swift opening of the door alerted his senses and he braced himself of the dumping of more documents onto his over cluttered desk. But to his relief, there was none, just his assistant scripting something onto her clipboard. He knew what the stance Yura was taking meant.

'_Damn I'm gonna have to sign something later'_

"Huh? No, no, no _Ka_! As in the 6th character on the _hiragana _chart. KA! Without the _tenten_… no, _su _is not the 6th character, it's the 13th character on the _hiragana _chart… yeah… but…wait…Yeah ok, whatever. Goodbye~!

He blew a kiss of the phone filled with vengeance and controlled himself from slamming the receiver onto the holder. He lifted his large arm chair and turned it around and dropped it carelessly onto the floor again, creating a large boom, facing the window behind and flounced into it. He also didn't forget to rest both his foot on the windowsill.

Yura didn't flinch.

"Now I have all evidence that _apes can't spell!_" His deep velvet voice lost its charm but now held malice. "Yura, what have I got to sign?" He held out his hand, not even looking at her, but stared transfixed out the window.

"Just some requisition papers, that's all" She placed the clipboard in his waiting hand and stood aside to inspect the room.

"So, have you found a suitable division for the excursion yet?" she asked.

"Nope, but I know which division they aren't setting foot in" obviously referring to the _Shinigami _he was talking to division. He threw the clipboard back on the table, next the empty pork bun box.

"I've got two more divisions to try" He gave the clipboard back to the deputy principal.

"Which ones?"

"10th and 9th division"

"Well I suggest that you try the 10th division because with the betrayal of the three captains a while back, well, the 9th division isn't stable enough under replacing Captain Hisagi Shuuhei"

Katsuya got up from his chair, obviously dissatisfied or bored of the scene from the window and skulked towards his cabinet. He fumbled around in his sleeve pocket until he found what he was looking for, the cabinet key.

"Oh, no you don't! We have a staff meeting in half an hour! I'm not going to have you smelling like-_"_

Yura strode over quickly to the cabinet and shut it with a sharp bang as Katsuya managed to unlock it. The smell of fermenting _sake_ invaded the room. She glared daggers from her steely violet eyes.

"- a drunk!"

"Yura my dear, I don't get drunk remember? Here I'll even give you some as well"

"No thankyou"

"I guess, I'll drink your glass as well then" Katsuya proceeded to take the bottle of _sake_ from the top shelf and opened the top, despite his deputy's protests.

"It's not whether you're drunk or not, we all know you don't get drunk, it's because we can all smell the alcohol reeking from you" Yura gave an exasperated sigh.

"I'm going out"

"What? Out? Now?" she quirked a delicate brow at her colleague's odd behaviour. It was like he wasn't listening to her at all, not like he never had or anything.

"You heard me. I'll be back in half an hour" Katsuya, who had already downed one cup of _sake,_ is in the middle of drinking the second as he left the office with a dumbfounded Yura left behind.

"But you still haven't finished calling all the division" Yura squeezed the words through gritted teeth as she snatched up the signed clipboard and tailed her superior into the corridor.

"I'll call the 10th division when the staff meeting is over"

He placed the now empty cup into his sleeve pocket.

The footsteps the two made echoed off the walls of the empty hallways. It was obviously somewhere in the middle of period three. Katsuya racked his brain on all the things he had to get done and all the things that were done (which was very little). He could here Yura saying something to him but he wasn't paying any attention at all. His searing purple eyes scanned the end of the hallway and brightened when it landed on the sought for doorway.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" Yura tugged at his sleeve

"Yeah, yeah order everything in triplicate and um… suspend him if he does it again"

"What the hell? Suspend?… triplicate?"

Her quiet, elegant feet stopped entirely and her eyes widened with utter confusion and then narrowed in complete annoyance. _He wasn't listening to a damn thing._ She could almost snap her clipboard in half and held back. She needed to keep her cool, and then she can think clearly, calmly and most importantly, rationally.

"KATSUYA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

Clear, Calm and there sister Rational all went 'bye-bye'.

"_Ja na"_

The principle already left the door so all that was left was the disembodied voice, left to stab Yura in the brain. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. What was the world coming too? They have a principle who can't tell the difference between responsibility and a fork and a crazy girl who claims to be Hitsugaya-_taichou's_ fiancé trying to break into the school. She praised the lord that one of her staff teachers Rock Lee, made an excellent bouncer at times. Why did that happen?

Never mind, she left that for Shikamaru to solve.

Yura smoothly turned on her heels and quietly walked back to her office. She needed to set up the meeting room. She brushed her long silver locks from her shoulder and continued down the hall. The soft murmurs of students dedicatedly studying was inviting to her ears. It was almost hard to believe that the school of _Shinigami_ Arts tests average were slowly decreasing as years went by. Until that stupid dope came, an image of Katsuya invaded her mind.

Studying and learning was unattractive and fighting and combat was the only thing that the teens wanted to do. Slowly the morals and values started to disintegrate along with the heartfelt idea of what it really meant to be a _Shinigami_. But all that changed in the most ridiculous manner.

She remembered the day Katsuya took over as principle of the Seireitei Academy and confronted Central 46.

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_

"_No more"_

"_I beg your pardon!"_

"_You heard me. I will not have this school drowning, thinking that they will one day become the best Shinigami ever when they are really heading down that road of becoming self- conceited pigs!"_

"_I resent that statement!"_

"_Face it Education Minister!" all gasps resounded off the round walls of the large structure known as Central 46. Murmurs and curses flew back and forth quietly as the elder Shinigamis shook there heads in disapproval and obviously astounded by the insolent behaviour of just a mere shinigami._

_Yura could only stand statue-still and let him speak his piece before they all leave to return to the school, or possibly be thrown into the detention centre for Katsuya speaking out of turn. Everyone was there._

_Tsunade, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma and Yamato. All supporting Kinomoto Katsuya._

_They all stood to the side, intently analysing their comrade's dispute._

"_We have all the records of, oh looky here, 'briberies to allow students to pass the exams' 'more briberies for other students of noble blood to skip grades', 'unnecessary school expenses just to fill your pockets' and need I say more?"_

_Katsuya flung the folders of all the records and documents onto the floor for all the members of Central 46 to see. The small pile seemed to multiply as it slid across the marble floors, like pass sins coming to the surface. His steely violet eyes darkened into a sinister indigo shade as he stared piercingly into the Education Minister's eyes._

_It only promised retribution._

_Yura scanned at the horrified faces of the dignified Shinigamis, well, was dignified._

"_What is the meaning of this Mashimoto-san?" the eldest of the Central 46 member spoke in his hoarse tone. He must be the head of Central 46 or something._

_Said man spluttered like a fish that's been out of water. His face started to glow red and heated as his eyes were widened in disbelief at all the evidence. He tried to turn his face away from the Kinomoto's eyes but to no avail. It was as if he was being sucked into a bottomless pit that only offered proper punishment and revenge. He gulped in air and tore his beady eyes away and calmed himself._

"_I want this fiend brought to justice"_

"_What's done is done. The principle has already retired and is living a secluded life. We shall make haste and apprehend him and hold trial. He will be given a sentence decided by the Central 46. You have succeeded as Principle already, so you will make the appropriate changes to the school as you see fit"_

_He nodded his head along with the other members._

_His response was an empty chuckle coming from Katsuya. It died down as he began to speak._

"_Maybe I should have said more"_

"_I beg your pardon?" a rather old and elegant lady prodded._

"_I have one more piece of evidence" Katsuya smoothly slid his hands into his sleeves and pulled out a bit of calligraphy parchment and held it up for all to see. The Education Minister narrowed his eyes sharply._

"_I thought he said he wasn't going to bring it" said Kakashi from the back._

"_Who knows" replied Asuma, lighting a cigarette._

"_What is it?" replied the same old man_

_Katsuya unfolded the piece of parchment with a flick of his finger and it flapped and revealed its infamous and dreaded content._

"_The Agreement for the Education Minister to receive half the illegal profits of the Academy!" _

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_

Once Yura made it back she slumped into her chair and rubbed her temples. She really needed to take a holiday. Or like Kurenai said: 'Find yourself a guy and settle down'. Yura mentally gagged, it was easier for her to say since she already has one and like she had time for one.

She picked up the receiver of the phone and began dialling. Was it the 9th or 10th division she was calling? No, the 10th. While waiting of the ringing tone to finish, she flicked through her class schedule. Even though she is the deputy principal, she still taught classes. It was still her duty as a teacher. Her eyes tweaked up as she heard the click of the phone being answered.

"_Hello, this is the 10__th__ Division Administration office. Please state your business"_

"The Deputy Principal of the Seireitei Academy would like to speak to the 10th Division Captain"

"_Please wait while I patch your call"_

"Thankyou" Yura crossed her legs and turned back to look out her own window. She wondered why Katsuya loved staring out the window. She thought she had the better view of the school _koi_ pond.

"_Hello?"_

"May I speak to Hitsugaya-_taichou_?"

"_This is he. Who's calling?"_

"Deputy Principal of the Seireitei Academy"

"_Name?"_

"Yura, Kinomoto Yura"

* * *

"Mou that _Taichou_ sure is grumpy again. Ami must've tried to sneak into his room while he was sleeping again" Matsumoto walked through the bustling market street to get to her regular _sake_ house. She passed by the _manjuu_ stand, the _ramen_ stand, the old lady who makes sugar candy on the street, the _okonomiyaki_ stand and many more. The wave of the smell of delicious food cooking in the damp air made her mouth drool.

'_Maybe after a good drink, I'll grab some lunch'_

She made her to the threshold of _Izakaya no Saotome_ and greeted the owner cheerily.

"_Konnichiwa, jii-san!"_

"_Yokosou, Matsumoto-san_"

"How are you today?" Matsumoto flopped onto her normal seat and plopped her elbows onto the bench. The owner, Saotome Gennichirou was the nicest old man she has ever met. Many old men found in various parts of Soul Society were usually grouchy old goblins in a chip on his shoulder. He's heart warming smile showed his yellow cracked teeth and his wrinkled face was adorable. He often walked in small shuffles to and fro. He had two young grandsons' who usually helped him out in his _Izakaya_.

"Not to bad. My little Akito is going to turn seven this spring and will be attending pre-academy soon (1)"

"Oh, how sweet" little Akito was his grand daughter and was the cutest little bug she has ever seen! Her sweet smile was identical to her grandfathers except she had teeth

"So you want your usual?"

"You read my mind!"

"Jirou! Bottle of _sake_ for Matsumoto-_san!"_

"_Hai!"_

Matsumoto plopped into her seat and started rocking back and forth excited to get her drink, which she had all the time… everyday. She turned around and looked at all the other regular patrons sitting on the _zabutons_ at the _chabudai_ **(T/W: Japanese large low tables)** in the _sake_ house and. Some were laughing, glugging, sleeping, yelling but over all it was a nice and welcoming atmosphere.

"Want me ta fill ya up mister?" Saotome said to the person sitting two places away from Matsumoto.

"Sure"

'_Hey, that voice sounds familiar…'_ like a light bulb springing to light, she recognise the velvety mumble from the stranger.

Quick as lightning, she slid into the next seat to inspect him further. Sensing the movement and close proximity, the figure turned his head to see.

Violet met Grey.

"Have we met before?" Matsumoto made herself comfortable and leant on her hand. She wanted to be careful in case it wasn't him. But it was almost 100 percent chance that he was, she knew it, but as a 10th division member, she wanted to be careful.

The man blinked a few times before answering "What? Don't you remember me?" He bit back a chuckle.

"Ah! Of course, the club" Matsumoto said. "So what are you doing here?" she inquired.

"Here's your _sake _ma'am!" The young boy named Jirou served her the drink before disappearing back into the storeroom.

"I'm running away from work" He mumbled and started sipping his drink again.

"Ditto…" they both forlornly drank their _sake_ like they were a miserable couple escaping the harsh realities of life. Seconds passed through the thick silence despite the loud laughing crowd of joyous drunk _Shinigamis._

"Your name's Katsuya right?" she piped up.

"Yeah" he leant back on his stool and stretched, narrowly missing a thrown_ sake_ bottle. He scanned her full body as she gulped quietly in her seat. He noticed the _fukutaichou's_ armband, secured fastly on her white _obi_.

'_Fukutaichou of the 10__th__…'_ he mused.

"You're a teacher right? My friends have been saying what a great school it had become since there was a new principal" she said.

Katsuya smiled into his drink.

"Is he a nice old man?"

Katsuya frowned into his drink

"I heard he was really nice and all and really cared for the students. I think Renji said that he was 'cool'. I was wondering I could meet him. It won't be while before I get to attend the orchard **(T/W: Shinigami slang for attending the graduation ceremony and pick out new graduates to be in their division. Sorta like picking fruits from the trees)**. How come I'm the only that hasn't met him yet?"

"Well" Katsuya coughed into his hand. "I would introduce you, but I must be going now but if you really want to maybe tomorrow" He got up from his seat and placed the tab on the bench before starting to move away. Matsumoto quickly snatched his arm.

"Stay for one more drink?" She smiled at him.

"Sorry doll, but I gotta get going before the deputy principal kills me" he gave a charming smile which almost melted Matsumoto, which inturn loosened her grip. She stared in awe at the billowing of his _haori_. It was black except for the red stripes on the shoulder.

She noticed that obviously he was wearing his work cloths which were black _hakama_ and blood red _kimono_ which the school crest embroidered on the chest. What she also noticed made her blood boil. Right on the centre of his back was sewn in red silk was:

_The Kanji for Principal_.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

"Gah!"

Matsumoto pounced on his back and began beating wildly on his head. He yelled and tried to rip off the crazy lady on his back. He stumbled out onto the street and yelled curses at her. The busty lieutenant, using her full body weight, flipped him over thus banging his head into a building wall.

"YOU ARE THE PRINCIPAL!?" Matsumoto yelled at the bleeding man, huffing and heaving.

The only thing that the assaulted man was concentrating on now was the rhythmic bounce of her breasts. Up… down…up…down…up…

"Hey!" Matsumoto snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.

Katsuya snapped out of his stupor and slowly got up from his crashed position, he dusted the dust and pieces of cement form his uniform and just leant back on his haunches like it was a very beautiful day and being bashed into a wall was like another breakfast.

"Yeah?"

"Ugh, why didn't you say so?" Matsumoto crossed her arms over her over-bearing chest.

Katsuya got up steadily into his full height and shook his hair like a shaggy dog would, making sure to get all the pieces of cement were off. He continued to dust his attire till he was satisfied. He slipped his hands into his sleeve and grinned, looking like a failed humble monk.

"You didn't ask if I was"

"You don't wait for people to say so! YOU JUST SAY IT!"

"I'm the school principal"

"TOO LATE!"

"Well, what do you expect from men, they are all the same. They always keep secrets and lies and worst of all, they don't tell you where they are going" Matsumoto left in a huff, should slightly slouched. The air of cheeriness and happiness that always encased her seemed to vanish and what was left was emptiness.

Katsuya, sensing the change went after her. "Hey, hey, hey, sorry alright. I wasn't intentionally keeping secrets from or you, or lie and I _did_ tell you where I was going"

"You told me at the club that you were a teacher"

"No, I said I worked at the school, you assumed the rest" He stood in front of her and held her shoulders at arms length. For once, she felt incredibly stupid and was aware of it. She felt foolish for jumping and hitting him in front of the public which had quickly dispersed some time ago. She couldn't blame them.

"Well, you aren't a nice principal at all. My friends were wrong and you are definitely not cool" she turned on her heel and huffed away.

"Wait a second!" Katsuya immediately caught up with her. "Alright, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself properly, 'kay?"

"Mmmmm…" she pouted and looked away, staring at anything but him.

"Alright, just this once. But I still think you're a jerk"

"That's alright; lots of other people think so too"

"I'll buy you a drink some other time" with that, the young principal jogged off, knowing he was already in deep shit.

"_Mou taku"_ Matsumoto skulked back to her division to see what her captain was up to or what that Ami was planning and plotting next. Her nice drinking break had turned chaotic. He will pay.

* * *

Hitsugaya tapped his finger on the table as he listened to all the details that the deputy principal was confiding him in. he agreed to accommodate an excursion from the school and it would be scheduled tomorrow. He didn't mind, it would break up the monotony around here and hopefully. It will keep Ami busy. Speaking of the girl, what was she up to…?

"_So, it's settled?"_ the voice on the end was Kinomoto Yura.

"Yes, the 10th Division will provide the refreshments and will schedule a tour, thankyou and goodbye Kinomoto-_san"_.

He curtly hung up and picked up his calligraphy brush and resumed filling out reports. Routine paperwork was shared accordingly between the captain and lieutenant. Why was it that he was the only one who had to all of it? Because he had a shithouse lieutenant who constantly wanted to go out and have a break, that's why. He needed to chain her to the desk even if it was necessary or maybe even have his dreaded fiancé keep guard. The thought of her sent chills down his spine.

Where was she?

No point divulging in it. Hitsugaya rubbed his snowy head and yawned, revealing his fangs. He was dead tired (T/W note: no pun intended) and was hungry at that. He decided he will go on a well deserved break. Hitsugaya got out of his seat with a screech and proceeded out the door and into the courtyard. He heard there was a new restaurant in the main street and decided to check it out.

"Oh my gosh! Really!"

"Yeah, like totally"

The sound of the girls chattering seriously did annoy him. Though it wasn't as bad as Ami declaring her love to him. Echhh…

The restaurant looked more a like a café. It was small and it had a homey touch to it. Not like the commercial ones he often saw in the real world. There were tables and chairs out, the building was made from wood and there were pot plants out side. Thyme and sage he concluded.

He sat down indoors and beside the window and viewed the street. "Not bad" he mumbled. He called for a waiter and shy and timid girl approached him.

"May I take your order" she blushed.

"Rice, and _takoyaki_ thanks" he finished scanning the menu on the wall.

"Any drinks?"

"Green tea"

"Your food will come shortly" she scurried away and into the kitchen doors.

Hitsugaya continued to inspect outside and was glad to see that there weren't that many people in the café. It was serene and quiet and just his cup of tea. He wouldn't mind coming back just to sit and relax. His eyes caught a glimpse of someone that was familiar. She narrowed his teal eyes to see that it was Sakura's fellow friend and colleague. What was her name…? Sherry?

The girl caught his eye and turned to him and waved enthusiastically. He tugged the arm of the boy she was with and dragged them over to his table.

"Hi, it has been a while Hitsugaya-_taichou_" she said.

"Hi, it has" he stared at the boy that was next to her who had a grim look on his face.

"Oh, this is my brother Edward Elric" she said

"Pleasure to meet you" Edward finally smiled and held out his hand to Hitsugaya to shake. Hitsugaya, knowing the foreign custom shook the hand.

'_How odd, it feels hard… like metal'_.

"So do you come here often?" said Edward.

"No, this is my first time"

"You like it so far don't you? Almost everybody I know does" Sherry sat down in the seat opposite in and Edward just stood there staring at the menu.

"Where's you other friend-"

"Sakura? She's still teaching her class. We're on our free period" the German smiled and placed her elbows on the table.

"You know what I noticed? The two of you sound exactly the same, how cool is that?" Sherry clapped her hand together.

"We do not Sherry" Edward rolled his eyes

'_Now that she mentioned it, we do'_

Ignoring Edward, she continued to speak. "Hey, the school is organising an excursion for the 5th years in our school to take a tour on a division of the Gotei13 and I was just wondering if you know which division it is yet?"

Hitsugaya stoped tapping his fingers on his lap and mulled over the information that was given to him via the phone.

"Mine, I believe"

"Really? Well Sakura will get a kick out of that" said Edward. Sherry nudged him gently.

"Sakura?"

"Well, she was on the list to attend as supervisor for the excursion and I unfortunately didn't, but wait till she here's that it's going to be your division Hitsugaya-_taichou_!"

Excitement bubbled inside him. This will be interesting indeed.

"Oh, I've been meaning to give you this but I wasn't sure" Sherry dug through her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Since you are calling her on a first name basis and there was a rumour flying around that she gave you a physical some time ago"

Hitsugaya started turning red. It must've been Hanatarou.

She gave the sheet to him "This is her timetable. It shows the classes she is teaching, when and where, and her free periods.

Hitsugaya fingered the sheet and scanned it over.

"What for?" he blinked in confusion

Sherry winked. "You'll know what to do, you are the _tensai_"

She got up and swung her bag over her shoulder and called her brother. Edward was holding two takeaway boxes in his hands and his wallet. "It was nice to see you again Hitsugaya-_taichou.__ Bis bald! _(Bye for now!)

"See ya" called out Edward. The two left the little café and went down that street. All that was left was the piece of paper in his hand outlining the daily routine of Haruno Sakura. He smiled and folded the slipped the piece of paper into his sleeve.

He knew exactly what he would do with it.

"Here's you rice, _takoyaki_ and green tea sir" the waitress came back and placed the bowl and dish of steaming octopus balls on his table and she poured the green tea into his cup before leaving.

_He knew what to do with it indeed_

_

* * *

  
_

**This has turned into a long chapter and it's getting harder to keep it consistent. My sis gets credit too for providing the Matsumoto dialogue and me for the Katsuya dialogue and the rest. THERE I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY YOU GOT YOUR CREDIT! So greedy…**

**By the way, where is Ami? Can anyone guess? What is she plotting and planning? She already tried to break into the school once…**

**And we finally know Yura's last name and you know what that means?? She is Katsuya's sister. Older or younger, I'm not telling XD**

**1) **The pre academy is like a school that children go to. Sorta like primary school if you will. C'mon, the 6 year olds gotta learn how to read and right before going to the Big Academy and I doubt the Shinigami parents don't have the time to teach.

**Read & Review my pretties!**

**TripWire- dono**


	9. The Excursion

**I'm currently in my computer class right now and at an advantage because we've got a casual teacher and she doesn't know squat what the hell I'm doing. Which is NOT doing my work and writing my fanfic. Incase you don't know, the author's note in the beginning (such as s this one) is when I start my fanfic where I right about my day and the one at the end, which you will see later is when I finish typing my chapter and write about THAT day. So the time span a while and my day to day basis will change. Now my day to day basis, I'm supposed to make a CD cover or some shit but… someone stole the ink from the printer. I think it was Ms. Parmaxidas, the history teacher. 0-0".**

**Enjoy!**

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_Recap: _

"_Here's you rice, takoyaki and green tea sir" the waitress came back and placed the bowl and dish of steaming octopus balls on his table and she poured the green tea into his cup before leaving._

_He knew what to do with it indeed_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 9: Excursion**

"Miyazaki, Ayako!"

"Hai!"

Toyohashi, Noburou!"

"Hai!"

"Tanazaki, Kasumi!"

"Hai!"

"Good, everyone's here" Temari checked off all the students who responded to their names and stuffed the wad of paper in her bag. Temari was the head of staff history teacher. It was about two years since she entered the teaching world and was taken under the wing of Kinomoto Yura. She scrutinised each and everyone of the students, making sure that they have all spat out their chewing gums.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the battle cry of one unknown women interrupted Temari as she was about to say something. The window suddenly burst into shards of glass and sprayed the students like rain. She somersaulted through in a whirlwind of table cloth and sticked her landing and threw _kunais_, perfectly nailing the fabric to the chalkboard.

"Alright! Listen here you little maggots!"

Mitsrashi Anko had made her entrance.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing here?!" Temari yelled.

"Accompanying the students on their excursion of course" Anko grinned and licked her lips.

"NO! You are not on the list and so you aren't going" Temari huffed and crossed her arms. If there was a thing that was on her _no list_ it would be that there was no way this lizard lady was going to embarrass them on an excursion, at least not with that table cloth in her hands. Go knows what other cruel tricks she will perform on unsuspecting division members.

"Yura-_san_ said I can go"

Temari raised a brow.

"Ok, Yura-_san_ didn't but the other Kinomoto said I could go" Anko smirked.

"Whatever" sighing in defeat, Temari turned around to address the students once more with the rules and regulations. "One more thing" Temari stopped in mid sentence and turned to Anko. "Hide those _kunais_, we don't need to have anyone else seeing them"

* * *

"Matsumoto, have you delivered the admission report?"

"Yes"

"Filed the monthly budget?"

"Done"

"Did you send a message to all members?"

"Yep. I said that everyone should be on their best behaviour when the students are present and that they should be on a look out for Ami and that make sure they properly represent the 10th Division" Matsumoto looked amazed at her capability and achievement of the day.

"Dusted the furniture?" Hitsugaya neatly stack a pile of paper into the cupboard and securely locked it.

"Ditto and I got Ranhana- _san_ to do that?" she was referring to a random 10th division person.

"Good, now stuff yourself in a closet so as not to embarrass me or yourself"

"_Hai-_ what? Why? _Taichou_, you're being awfully sarcastic today" Matsumoto placed her stapler down and sipped her tea. Lately he had been snappish and grumpy to her, not that it was unusual though. But it didn't look healthy for him. Didn't have something to do with his round eyes bags, chapped lips and hollow eyes? Was Ami keeping him up again?

"I'm sorry; I just have a lot on my mind today, that's all"

"And the past week"

"What do you mean by that?" He shot a glare.

"Hell moth" as if saved by the winged messenger, she leapt at it and let it land on her finger.

"_Taichou_, the students are hear at the entrance. Shall we let them in?"

"Go ahead"

Matsumoto repeated the message to the hell moth and watched it fly through the door.

"Matsumoto"

"Hmm?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said stuff yourself into the closet"

Matsumoto sweat dropped. Maybe _he _should stuff himself into a closet so he won't infect everyone with his snark attitude. But then again, it's easy for Ami to corner him.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto approached the gate to greet the students. He searched for the most dignified person he could to have a talk with and he chose a tall blonde girl standing at the front. She had sharp features and sharp eyes. Her hair was pulled into four bushy ponytails which looked like echidnas. She looked bossy enough.

"Hitsugaya- _taichou_, on behalf of the school, I thankyou for allowing us the privilege to tour your division. I assure you the students will be on their best behaviour"

"My pleasure, I will take over now. Follow me." Hitsugaya stuffed his hands in his sleeves and walked briskly back in with the chattering people behind. There was a sense of satisfaction to see young greens, with a look of curiosity as they are exposed to the life of the _shinigami, _the divisions. Maybe it was because he no longer had to strain his neck and look up at them and maybe because he already had the privilege to already induce in having the knowledge beforehand and that made him feel superior. Or maybe it was the fantastic _ramen_ he had for lunch.

"Excuse me sir!"

"Yes?"

"Why aren't you wearing your _zanpakutou_?" a student piped up.

He stopped and faced the students and made sure that everyone was listening. Yes, he wasn't wearing _Hyourinmaru_ at the moment because it was safely under his desk. He still had his green slash though.

"Because this isn't special wartime and so captains and lieutenants are not required to carry their _zanpakutous_. It was only during the betrayal of the three captains was when the special wartime alarm was sounded" **(T/W: That's actually true, the only reason why you haven't seen them without their swords because the whole damn anime was on wartime!)**

"Ohhhh!" the students nodded their head in understanding. Hitsugaya continued the tour around the division. He pointed out different aspects of the building and what historical contribution they had to the _shinigami_. They briskly trekked through the training grounds, dinner hall, the recreational compound, the administration office and his offices and the division dormitory.

"This is my office where all the administrative work comes through" he stood aside to show the office. It was bland on one side and extremely colourful on the other. It was obvious which side belongs to whom. "The various paperwork that comes through ranges from top secret documents, monthly budgets, requisition orders, war and strategy tactic plans and other necessary paper that keeps the division running" Hitsugaya allowed the students to roam across the large office and inspect the different details found in a military office.

"And this cabinet holds my _sake_ and snacks!" Matsumoto pranced towards the glowing cabinet and showed the students the assortments of food and drinks piled in the shelves. It was a disgrace to all ­_fukutaichous_.

"Matsumoto…" Hitsugaya's brow twitched violently.

Shikamaru decided to assist the captain. "Some of us are interested in you compounds and training grounds. Perhaps you could show us" Shikamaru drawled form the back. Temari shot a warning glare at some snickering students form the back as well.

The students grinned at the prospect of seeing some _Shinigamis_ in action at the training grounds.

"Yeah, this way!"

* * *

"Here, this is known as The Fountain of Knowledge" the young students gaped in awe at the large fountain he pointed out. The magnificent glow of the granite surface was reflected by the soft sprinkling of water, sprouting out of the mouth of a dragon. The whole feature of the fountain was the dragon, coiled in the middle of the granite basin surrounded in the clear water.

"The Fountain of Knowledge? Oooooooo, Fountain of Knowledge, how powerful and magical" one of the students at the back scoffed. Not surprising as he was one of the tallest there and Hitsugaya noticed he hasn't been paying enough close attention as he should and was constantly getting reprimanded by one of the supervising teachers at the back.

"Why would something that should belong to a school appear in a _Gotei13_ division? I mean Come on, like what kind of _shinigamis_ would need that Oh, powerful, Fountain of _Knowledge_? Do they still need help?" He tapped his finger to his head. The low bellowing laughter of his two lackeys came from behind. He snickered at his own joke and crossed his arms together.

"Because, Tanakuro_-san_" A hand appeared on his right shoulder and a feminine voice spoke up for all to hear.

"That fountain is a representation of the 10th also known as the strategy and stealth division **(A/N: That's true too)**. The fountain's not for _mental help_, but to represent the analytical skill of the _shinigamis_ within the division, hence the Dragon. The dragon is the most intelligent creature in Soul Society"

Sakura gestured to the magnificent granite stone statue of the coiled dragon in the centre. Its hollow eyes seem to drill holes in that of the rude student's eyes and its sharp claws were poised in his direction as if it was angered for being mocked. Tanakuro gulped.

"Correct Haruno- _sensei_. And do you also notice that there is no sound coming from the splashing water?" true, there was no sound coming from the spouting water. At all. Not even the slightest as it plummeted into the basin. It was as if sound was stolen from the beautiful structure and all that was left was the thin cloak of invisibility, a _shinigami_ might not even know it was standing right behind him.

"That represents stealth" a student gasped in awe.

"That's right, now the next place is-"

"_Taichou?_ Can I take over now? I want to know the students too, please. You showed them all the boring places, I got better ideas and I have charisma so I'm going to make it more enjoyable!" Matsumoto tapped him on the shoulder repeatedly, thoroughly annoying him in the process.

Realising that he won't get any peace and that Matsumoto was probably going to project all her thoughts at everything he's going to say, he relented.

"Fine, BUT, do anything stupid and reckless, you will pay"

"_Hai, hai_. Jeez, how bad can it be taking a bunch of kids on an excursion?" Matsumoto flipped her hair and stood in Hitsugaya's place.

"I'll tell you how hard it can be…" Temari muttered under her breath from the back. "Hey, where's Anko?"

Sakura and another teacher, Shikamaru looked around for the missing teacher. "Now that you mention it, the last time I saw her was back at the dormitories" Sakura raised her hands above her forehead to block the sun. She scanned around the area, but to no avail, the woman was missing in action.

"If the Elric girl was here, we could've found her in a jiffy" Sakura and Shikamaru knew Temari was talking about the female Elric, who hails in long distance searching.

"Leave her be, she'll find her way back to the front gate. _Mendokusai_" Shikamaru scratched his head.

"What time does lunch start?" asked Temari.

"In twenty minutes"

They were told that the division would provide the refreshments only if the school paid for it. It was going to be organised in the dining hall with the food provided by the division cook. Yura was so careful, Hitsugaya was given a list of all the allergies the students had of specific foods. Sakura had a admire Yura's ability to think ahead and be prepared. A trait she assumed that didn't pass around in families.

A certain principle came to mind.

"Is this the first time you've been to a division?"

"WAH!" Temari spun around and held her hands behind as if she was going to unhook something from her back, but realised there was nothing there and so she dropped her hands to her sides.

Was a sword meant to be there? Or was it something _else_? Hitsugaya kept that in mind when he noticed the fleeting action.

Hitsugaya's presence seemed to pop out of no where from behind. Shikamaru seemed to just grunt and Sakura held her arms up in a defence. Stealth and strategy was what you needed to become a 10th division member. Being a captain, he surpassed everything.

"Yes. It's quite exciting and interesting to know the behind- the- scenes of a military division" Sakura kept her attitude and behaviour in check.

"You think so?" said Hitsugaya.

Sakura nodded in response. She looked into his eyes and was immediately entranced by the shimmering teal as it reflected the sun. Ever since she was caught by the hue, she almost wished that that was the colour of her flowerpot, she had been searching for one but, none was available. His colour was truly unique.

"Do you enjoy books and reading?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Oh, yes. As a matter of fact, I try to read at least one every two weeks" Sakura replied.

Temari and Shikamaru started to realise that they weren't part of the conversation anymore. It seemed like Hitsugaya- _taichou_ was ignoring them anyway. Shikamaru vaguely listened to the stream of words about whatever Japanese literature they were discussing and sighed every five seconds. He kept an eye out for the group of students as they were inspecting what was called "The Quicksand". As far he knew, it looked like a _shunpo_ exercise, seeing as the lieutenant was demonstrating one and was skimming across the quicksand. He better not let them move to far away, but it was too troublesome to walk over there and continue supervising. _'Mendokusai'_.

"Well, seeing as you are missing the third volume of _Rekushi no Joudan_, how about I take you too the 10th division library and have a browse? I doubt Matsumoto will take the students there" Hitsugaya continued speaking to Sakura.

"I didn't know you guys had your own library, but I dunno…" Sakura looked towards the students that were moving away.

As if reading Shikamaru's and Sakura's mind, Temari voiced their thoughts. "Well, no problem! Sakura, you can go and have fun in the library. Shikamaru and I are more that enough to handle the students"

"Are you sure?" asked Sakura.

"Of course. Right Shikamaru?" Temari turned towards the lazy genius and gave a warning glare that was disguised as a sweet smile.

Knowing what she meant, he sighed and slumped further. "Whatever woman"

"Bye Sakura, see you in 20 minutes" Temari dragged the Nara along with her as they made their way towards the students again, just as Matsumoto was leaving the compound to start off somewhere more interesting. All that was left was Sakura and Hitsugaya standing alone.

"Well, since I was just unofficially dismissed from my job, yeah I'll check out the library" from the interaction between Temari and Shikamaru, it was as if they knew something she didn't. _But what?_

"Perfect" Hitsugaya lead her the way.

* * *

"It's pretty small actually" Sakura shifted through the small but comfy area. The shelves looked about Hitsugaya's height and the width pretty proportional. She can tell the books were kept in neat condition as they were lined up and were dust free. They were the only two occupying the room at the moment. Sakura strolled slowly, taking in all the detail of the library. She took noticed the types of books Hitsugaya had.

They seemed to be organised according to genre than author's last name. There were classic Japanese poems and literature, strategy, war tactics, History of Seireitei, more strategy and war tactics, a few _manga_, and other assorted literature ranging from manuals to hair dressing.

Sakura picked up a particular volume they were discussing earlier. _"Rekushi no Joudan, Vol 3_". The leather cover was worn and aged from being analysed and read over and over. The title was leafed in gold and the smell of old paper and parchment filled Sakura's nose. Upon opening the first page, she was immediately absorbed by the first action packed sentence. Hitsugaya watched humorously as she hunched over the tome like a child who found something they wanted to poke on the ground.

"Have a seat" Hitsugaya motioned his hands towards a _chabudai_.

"Huh? Oh sorry" Sakura blushed. She was too engrossed in her first chapter. She sat at the small table and folded her legs onto the cushion available. Hitsugaya made himself comfortable opposite her. With a flick of his wrist, he brushed his lone bang out of the way to look at her more closely.

He studied the way her emerald eyes zipped back and forth on the page and devouring all the words. Her nose wrinkled from the strong odour of the aging book. His mouth almost watered from the sight of her mouthing each word she read silently, her moist, pink lips curving into different syllables. She was totally in her own world; her thought's concentrated solely on the book. Her pink her framed her face nicely, emphasising her heart-shaped face.

"You can borrow that you know" Hitsugaya decided to steal her attention from the book.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry" she blushed form her disrespect. "Are you sure? I don't want to-"

"Nah, it's alright, all I ask is you return it to me once you are done with it"

"Thanks I guess" Sakura looked suspiciously at her hands. He was being civilised and nice at her. It was a little awkward since her first impression of him, which was a total ass. Was it a prank or a trap?

'_**I don't think so Sakura, I mean, look at his eyes, he looks sincere'**_

'_No can do Hikari. I don't think I will be able to look away afterwards'_ Her _zanpakutou_ was the only being she can ever confide anything and everything that was personal immensely. Not even Ino and Sherry.

"Tell me about yourself" Hitsugaya casually leaned back on his arms

"Well, I'm 16 and I'm a medical teacher. I have a cat, Karupin, I like to cook and read and shop and eat etc."

"That's it?"

"The rest is none of your business" Sakura smiled.

"If you keep saying that you'll never get a boyfriend"

"Why should I tell personal stuff to you?" she retorted

"I might end up being your future husband"

"You wish"

"Who Knows?"

There was moment of awkward silence as the too sat glaring and smirking at each other.

"So how's being a teacher?" Hitsugaya made a stab of starting another conversation.

"What's it like? Pretty much like a captain handling they're own division but more adventurous" Sakura ran a hand through her pink locks as if reminded of the stress in the classrooms. Hitsugaya licked his lips at that motion.

"It can't be as hard, Sakura" Hitsugaya chuckled.

Sakura twitched at his words. "Please call me Haruno or Haruno-_sensei_" Sakura frowned. Was he getting all buddy-buddy with her now? First he was so nice and generous, that didn't give him the privilege to be best friends with her.

"I did lend you the book" He raised a brow.

"So? Anyone can do that" Sakura pouted and gripped the precious book tightly.

"Only a friend can do that, especially lending the last copy of the volume in the whole of _Seireitei_" Hitsugaya leaned on his arm closer to her.

'_Last copy? OH HELL, I'M KEEPING IT DAMNIT!'_ Sakura screamed at Hikari.

"No take backs. You already said I could borrow it"

"Don't worry, I never go back on my word" Hitsugaya leaned back and stretched.

"Are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"Well, no but- HEY! That's a personal question!" Sakura threw a pointed finger at him.

"So it's a no. You mind if I take you out somewhere sometime?" Sakura couldn't believe he was saying all those rubbish in front of her, with a blank expression. He was actually serious wasn't the, despite the lack of emotion.

"Umm, n-no because I don't w-wanna…" Sakura leaned back a bit. The man was engaged for goodness sakes. Even if she did want to, which she didn't Sakura reassured her self, she still would out of fear of being eaten alive by his dreaded fiancé.

"Why not?" He looked back at her.

"Because, I'm scared I'll get eaten alive by your dread fiancé" Sakura repeated her thoughts by word.

"I'll protect you, promise" he smirked.

'_He just did not..!'_

'_**Simmer down Sakura before you cause any trouble-'**_

Sakura ignored Hikari's words and all she could see was red. Deep blood red. _His_ deep, blood red. She made sure he didn't see it by using her awesome ninja skills of the art of disguised face.

She believed that action speaks louder than words.

_**KRACKSH!**_

So she punched the table neatly in half. Wood splintered everywhere and the table lied caved in at the middle and she hoped it got his foot.

Hitsugaya merely widened his eyes significantly.

'_**Holy fuck'**_said Hyourinmaru

'_You said it'_ Hitsugaya replied.

"About my protection" Sakura stood to her full height glaring down at Hitsugaya. Despite her lack of rank, she could make a damn, scary captain. Her hair glowed dark with the aura of promised death and torture. She flexed her fingers, as if the destructive move was nothing. She was the portrait of fury.

"You're gonna pay for that" Hitsugaya indicated to the broken table. He was unfazed by it since Matsumoto also likes to destroy things in her drunken state.

Sakura realised her error. Who thinks straight when all she can imagine was ways to maim an arrogant captain? But she can get away with it "The school will pay for that"

"But they probably will take it out of your pay" Hitsugaya countered.

He was right. Kinomoto-_ kouchou_ and Yura-_sensei_ would take it out of her pay. They hell they were going to waste the school expenses because of something absolutely reckless.

"And that piece of furniture costs 100, 000 _yen_"

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Hitsugaya was about spit a comment about her choice of language but decided against it. He had something better that will get the cherry blossom more riled up.

"You can pay your debt by letting me take you somewhere for lunch next week. Whaddaya say?"

She didn't know what to say! Things were getting blurry and she pretty sure she missed something.

"Since you displayed your… strength, you won't need to worry about Ami" Hitsugaya smirked in victory. He proceeded to stand up as well and immediately dwarfed Sakura.

Sakura's insane thoughts were interrupted by the sharp ringtone from her sleeve pocket. She pulled out her phoned and muttered 'just a second' and answered it. Hitsugaya didn't know teachers get to have soul detectors too. Did they go to the real world too?

Whatever, they better head off to the dining hall now because it was past twenty minutes now and Matsumoto was probably organising a food fight in his absence. Not that the other two teachers won't be there to stop her.

He remembered there was a fourth teacher, but where had a she gone? She's probably lost somewhere or got attacked by his fiancé…Eck.

"Hi sweetheart!" Sakura cooed into her pink phone.

Hitsugaya's face fell.

"No I'm on an excursion at the moment…Hmm… you want _tonkatsu_ for dinner? Sure, it's your favourite… I know I missed you too darling. Did you have fun? That's great… alright, I love you bye~"

Sakura blew an addition kiss to the phone and hung up. Hitsugaya could not believe his ears.

"I thought you said you weren't seeing anyone?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously down at the pinkette.

Sensing his discomfort, Sakura grinned at him and tucked her book in her arms. "Yep, I don't have a boyfriend and won't be planning one anytime soon"

She proceeded out of the little library and into the hallway with the tenth division captain on her heels.

"Who was it then?"

"That" Sakura turned a corner and waited for his to appear just around and lead her to the dining hall.

"Was my son"

* * *

**Cliff-hanger, yep. Did anyone went omfg on their keyboard? Hope so because my sister did. Lol. Anyway, yeah I'm not gonna comment on my lateness, you audience can use your imagination to make up an excuse for me. Abducted by aliens, meeting with the Queen on England, whatever floats your boat.**

**But where is Ami? Where is she? The next chapter won't be about the continuation of the excursion; it will be in one of the teachers (not Sakura) flashback or retrospect. You know, a little more interesting. **

**My sister gets credit for minor dialogue.**

**Well, about my week, I just finished my maths test and I left out 2 questions. Grrr… but almost everyone did. Still~, also there are about 5 weeks till the end of my term and holidays start. CAN'T WAIT!! I also finished my work experience and Kinokuniya, which is a specialist Japanese book store.**

**Read and Review my darlings!**

**TripWire- dono**


	10. Deceit

**Wasn't the last chapter a shocker? Well, I'm not revealing whether the son is in this chapter or not yet because you HAVEN'T READ THE CHAPTER YET, if you are reading this… so you are gonna find out. I'm sitting on my lazy ass in IST at the moment not doing my work so bugger it all. It is now 9:27am Australian time (I don't give a shit about changing it to American time… which I don't know how many hours behind) This is the 10th chapter of my Part 1 and I'm a proud author to have made it this far without crying! WAAAAAAAH!**

**  
Enjoy this chapter while you can… Also, I'm writing this on NotePad because the school computer is broken and Word Doc won't bloody save! IT'S BROKEN! but I will convert it to word doc when I get home so, yeah.**

**

* * *

  
**

_Recap:_

_  
Sensing his discomfort, Sakura grinned at him and tucked her book in her arms. "Yep, I don't have a boyfriend and won't be planning one anytime soon"_

_  
She proceeded out of the little library and into the hallway with the tenth division captain on her heels._

_  
"Who was it then?"_

_  
"That" Sakura turned a corner and waited for his to appear just around and lead her to the dining hall._

"_Was my son"_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 10: Deceit **

The evening star wasn't over head tonight. Then again, all the stars weren't present at all. The clouds hovered ominously over the trees, it's belly almost touching the tips of of the tip. The wind rustled the crackled leaves of the dying cherry blossom. Foots steps lightly left a trail from the park to the main street to the first division. It was Ami. Her sharp eyes scrutinised ever single thing that was in dark.

She had a meeting with _soutaichou_ tonight. It concerned her wedding and the threat what she deemed was the meddlesome women.

_  
'Sakura' _she mentally seethed. It was her fault. She almost had Toushirou wrapped around her finger when _she_ came along. Wasn't it ironic how her whole family perished in the Great Vyagon War and she found her one true love with happiness and it was ripped away from her claws by that woman? How dare she come and steal her true love away!

While she was away doing important work with several wedding planners and the tailoring store, the bitch was off fooling around with her fiancé! She heard it was an excursion, but no, she thought and still thinks that it was some ploy for the pink bitch to steal _her_ Tou-tou.

Her pace quickened when she approached the 1st division gates. She didn't bother to answer the guarding _Shinigami_ when he yelled at her to halt but proceeded to the office. Nothing was going to bother her tonight. She will deal with the matter once and for all.

She slammed the door opened, letting its sound of breaking wood alert the _soutaichou_ of her arrival. The aging man looked up from his documents.

"What can I do for you Ami-_hime_" his crackling voice answered.

She marched right up to his desk and flounced into the opposite chair. She glared at him as if it was his entire fault that her engagement wasn't perfect.

"There is a threat to my engagement"

"Yes? Please explain"

"This… woman is meddling with it and is leading Toushirou-_kun_ astray!" she screeched.

"Who is this woman?"

"I don't remember her name, but I heard that she is an academy teacher"

_  
Soutaichou_ thought for a minute. Teachers are quite dispensable. It wouldn't matter what happened to them.

"Well, it is your responsibility to make sure you keep this relationship intact at all cost for your benefit, and mine. But as you can see, I'm extremely busy with my work here so what do you want me to do about it?"

"I want to take action on my own" she answered coldly.

_Soutaichou_, leaned forward and laced his wrinkled fingers together in front of him. His eyes opened a crack to reveal the eyes that were slowly blinded by age. He thought for a bit of the Vyagon princess's proposal.

"Alright. As long as it doesn't disrupt the day to day activities of the _Shinigami_"

Ami smirked behind her purple bangs crudely. "Excellent" With that she left with the grace of royalty and the speed of _shunpo_.

* * *

"GOOD MORNING TAICHOU!"

Hitsugaya grumbled in earnest from the ridiculously happy tone of his _fukutaichou_. It was a Monday and he wasn't in the best of moods. Yesterday, he was dragged to the most expensive restaurant in _Seireitei_ to ask if they catered, especially for weddings. Of course it wasn't _his_ idea at all. He would rather be doing mountains of paperwork to even be seen with the dreaded woman. Why can't the _shinigamis_ move on and base relationships on decent love like in the real world? We've been to the real world so many times that not even the culture caught on, only a little.

"Well, it's been two weeks since the students came to visit ne? Now I miss them awfully. Can we have another excursion next year?" Matsumoto collapsed onto her chair and idly played with the calligraphy brush in her hand.

"We'll see" His thoughts wondered towards the pink hair teacher. He felt oddly bored in her absence. The smell of her cherry hair, the gaze for her emerald orbs and the curve of her body. He didn't mind having these thoughts about her. Somehow it seemed natural. At other times, he wanted to beat his brains out when he did in captains meetings.

His hand clunked onto the table and a sharp ping reached his ears. It was the wedding band. How he hated it. Despised it. Abhorred it. He knew that he sealed his fate when he became a military dog, a captain. He was required to obey all rules without question. But he didn't have a say in this fucked up marriage. He didn't have any rights and he didn't have a fair go. He won't have a chance to even have a choice to be married with a woman _he_ chose. A woman he would choose to love.

Hitsugaya tugged the band in vain, but all he got was a swelling finger. First he had his childhood ripped away from him the minute he enrolled in the academy, and now the rest of his life. Life was just a roller coaster ride without the ending tracks. It plummets, at least applicable to his life.

He sighed. He wondered who the father of Sakura's son was. Where was he? Had he seen him before? Why didn't he see any pictures of older guys in her house? Was she happy? Were the family happy? His sure as hell wasn't. He was going to start his own family with a woman he hates, a family based on a contract and agreement and a military purpose.

This entire aggravated thinking had tired him out. His minded floated back to the pink hair beauty that made his heart soar. He imagined that she was sleeping under a cherry blossom tree, with dreams filled with him.

He kept that thought as he began to plough through the daily paper work, maybe it would sooth his stress.

_  
"Taichou_, I need help. This… thing" she waved a piece of paper at him "goes into the outbox right"

He wanted to slam his head on the table… twice.

"Oh! And the requisition paper for more training equipment got lost somewhere on the way to the… training equipment store" Matsumoto said.

Hitsugaya took a sip of his green tea.

"Look, Matsumoto, I'll handle it. Since you don't seem to be up to paperwork today, not that you are ever, I'll give you a really simple task to jog your brain"

"I'm not dumb. My hair may be blonde but I'm NOT dumb" She pursed her lips at him.

"I know, I'm just saying to get you more energised today"

"What is it _Taichou_?" she got up and walked to his desk to receive her assignment. She noticed over the years that his head was above his seat backrest now. Hitsugaya rummaged through his drawers, muttering '_where is it?'_ a bit before he pulled out a folder.

"This is the evaluation of the excursion that the school has asked me to fill in. You need to deliver this to the principal" he handed her the blue folder curtly. Matsumoto hesitantly took the folder into her quivering fingers. The word 'principal' wrapped around her brains a few time until the image of the smiling jerk popped up in her head like an unwanted rash.

Why was it that she thought of him, she always pictured him with a smiling peace sign? He never did anything of the sort before. Her and her twisted imagination.

"Is there anyone else that can take over ne?" Matsumoto plastered a smile.

"Um, I don't think so. Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, no. uh… I'll go now" she _shunpoed_ out of the office and into the street. Hitsugaya blinked a few times.

"That was weird. She didn't come up with a half-cocked excuse this time" Hitsugaya shook his head and continued with his task.

Rangiku walked silently and slowly through the streets on her way to the academy. She had no reason to not want to go right? All she had to do was give him the report and that's that. Nothing to it. Yet she still felt nervous to go and confront him again. Man she craved for _sake_ and this moment. Matsumoto took her time to observe the little stalls selling their goods around the street. The smell of roast chestnuts and dried persimmons wafted pleasantly to her nose. Her craving for the vile alcoholic beverage dissipated

"I'll just eat a bit first" her lips curved into a smile and walked over to the chestnut cart. The young lady and her father who were selling their roasted chestnuts were packing them away in cute red bags like hot cakes to their customers. Their customers looked happy too, that was a good sign. Their business was doing well. The little cart was painted red and gold and had a large steaming pot in the middle with a wooden stick used to mix the chestnuts. The roof of the cart looked like a normal house roof but with a name plate in black called "Ayano's Roasted Chestnuts"

"I'd like two bags please!" Matsumoto held her hands in peace sign.

"Sure miss" The old man scooped the warm brown nuts into the bag and tied it neatly with his arthritic fingers. Matsumoto's mouth watered from the over whelming smell of sweet chestnuts. She paid for her food and left, hassling one of her packet open to munch on her nuts. **(A/N: drool… I feel like roasted chestnuts now…drool)**

"_Itai!"_ The stinging pain from the tips of her fingers alerted her senses. She lifted her burnt finger from the packet. She forgot those things were still piping hot. She sucked on her throbbing finger and picked up her pace.

* * *

Her feet had reached the entrance gate. "Woah…" was it just her was the damn thimg bigger! A lot of time has passed so she could expected some changes to the premises in that amount of time. The gates looked as big as the North, South, East and West gates of _Seireitei_. The top was lacquered in black varnish and gilded. The structure reminded her of a _torii_ gate. There was a vertical name plate that read Seireitei Academy in gold leaf. The large granite poles supported the granite beams and are wrapped in sacred paper.

'_Flashy much?'_

Matsumoto marched through until she reached the reception desk. The inside was cooler than outside. There were a lot of potted plants inside too. Maybe that's why there's was a difference in temperature, new refreshing oxygen. She noticed a young lady at the desk, busily writing away on a piece of paper. Even though she was busy and looked like she wasn't purposely ignoring her, Matsumoto still expected people to be high alert when there is a _fukutaichou_ standing right in front of them. She didn't earn her _fukutaichou's_ badge for nothing.

She coughed to arouse the lady's attention.

"So did you enjoy being in the presence of the vegetation?" The lady lifted her head from her piece of paper.

"Huh?"

"Did you like the plants I mean" she shuffled some paper on her desk before she filed them away.

"Oh, yeah I did umm…" Matsumoto squinted her eyes, signalling she didn't know the name of the woman.

"Shizune. My name is Shizune and I'm the reception of _Seireitei_ Academy" The woman got out from behind the counter and went to bow at Matsumoto. She was an average looking lady. She wore a black_ yukata_ that matched her short hair. She had a welcoming smile and warm black eyes.

"What do we owe the pleasure of a Matsumoto- _fukutaichou_ here?" She said. She obviously recognised the infamous lieutenant.

"You would probably know that the school had recently gone on an excursion to the tenth division, well, my captain has ordered me to take this to the school principle. It's the evaluation report" Matsumoto showed the folder.

"Ok just hold on" Shizune scuttled back behind the reception desk and roughly pulled out a draw filled with knick- knacks. Matsumoto peered from the other side and saw assortments of paper clips, staples, rubber bands, paper, brushes, ink blocks etc. "Aha!"

Shizune returned and handed Matsumoto a badge a shiny wooden badge. It had the _kanji_ for 'Visitor' on it. It was _too_ shiny.

"Why do I need this for?" Matsumoto looked confused. It wasn't like she was breaking into the school or anything. The last she recalled, a captain can wonder in to the school anytime they felt like it.

"It's a school policy that anyone who isn't a student or a member of the staff must wear a visitors badge when within the school premisie" Shizune smiled.

"Ok then…"

SQUEE!

"SHIZUNE! CATCH HIM!"

A red a pink blur bolted from the corridors and zipped under Matsumoto's leg, causing a gush of wind to fly past the two people. Matsumoto must have been affected by the sudden wind because she thought she saw a pig wearing a maroon vest running with a lottery ticket in its mouth.

_And a wearing a pearl necklace!_

"AH! TONTON! Come back here! Tsunade- _sama_ is going to get angry!"

Shizune frantically chased after the runaway animal, the pig squealing its hoofs off as it made a crashing dash into the other end of the hall, out the archway and into the courtyard. The receptionist chased after it with super-speed determined to catch the bullet ham.

Matsumoto stayed rooted to the spot.

'_Wha? What kind of place is this? Pigs running around playing dress up! And a flashy gate and weird visitors badges and lots of plants? Oh god, everything has changed so much since I left the school ages ago'_

The soft noise of tired click- clacking started to get louder as it approached. The door was roughly slid open to reveal a busty blonde woman. Matsumoto gasp at the similarity this woman had with her.

Huge busty front that left little to the imagination.

She wore a green _haori_ with black _hakama_ and a grey tuck-in in robe. She had beautiful brown eyes and a purple diamond painted on her forehead. Her face was slightly chubby as if it still had baby fat and her skin as pale as the moon. There was a tired scowl to spoil her face

'_I wonder how did she get that kind of complexion?'_

"Man I'm getting too old for this shit" she cursed.

Rangiku cleared her throat. "Umm, excuse me, the principle is supposed to receive this and I'm hoping you could give-"

"Look I'm sorry uh… _fukutaichou_- san, but I'm really busy right now, I'm late for my own damn meeting and it's not on my way to principle office, but the school map is over there. You can find your way. Please excuse me"

The busty woman pushed past Matsumoto and into the other corridor, her heels click- clacking leaving marks in her ears as it sharply and quickly made its way down the hall.

"Uhh, okay?" Matsumoto was a little confused. Was it just her or was it be-a-bitch day today? "Whatever" she looked at the school map posted on the wall and traced her finger from the 'You are Here' bubble to the principle's office, which was marked with a king's crown.

'_Typical'_

Making sure she memorised her way, the strawberry blonde _fukutaichou_ set off on her own in the drastically transformed school.

* * *

Katsuya quietly sipped his _sake_. It was a normal day, a quiet day, a busy day and the day ran smoothly. He picked up the newspaper article he was reading and scanned contents briefly. There was a new total count of the _shinigamis_ who died this month while on duty in the real world. Every month, posted in the newspaper were the death toll of _shinigamis_. They were just bodies that were produced in Soul Society to go and fight like machines. Forever protecting the real world. They were just numbers to the _Gotei13_. The role they were born to fulfil or the role they _died_ to fulfil, never changing.

The numbers were casually discussed in the daily papers about the difference in the death totals from month to month. The decrease and the increase. Soon it would become an everyday topic about the deaths of soldiers for the other people that were waiting inline to be hollow chow. The _Gotei_ will never run out of military funeral shrines. There is always a surplus of _death_.

What do the captains do in their plush offices? Signing orders for more comfortable beds? More food? Deciding if they want to renovate the division? As far he knew, it had been years and years since the betrayal of 3 Captains. A very fashionable topic back then. He saw no progress in these years. The Soul Society sits back and relaxes in denial and worries about marriages to create super babies and virtually do nothing. Meanwhile, the ultimate villains in Hueco Mundo are busily plotting and planning on their goal at hand. When was the last time he read in the newspaper about a clue some captain cracked to find the secret in defeating Aizen? Never.

'_Despicable'_

He tossed the article into the bin, making a metallic clang. He sat quietly in his chair and turned to face the window. Will there ever be a time where the Soul Society will live in peace and harmony without the black cloud of despair that hung around the heavens. His rich violet eyes glazed over in thought and continued to quietly sip his _sake._

'_Knock, knock, knock'_

"Come in" his mouth spoke without his thinking.

Matsumoto slid open the door and entered as commanded by the voice. She stepped into the room and went and stood in front of the cluttered desk, with the large armchair facing the back. "Ahem"

The chair twisted forward revealing Katsuya draining the last of his _sake_. "What can I do for you Matsumoto _fukutaichou_?" He had just received a hellmoth from Shizune warning him of the visiting _fukutaichou_.

"I'm supposed to give this to you from my captain. You know, about the excursion?" she handed him the folder which he graciously took. Matsumoto looked around the quirky office. There was a book shelf to the right that didn't hold only books. There were strange little knick- knacks on the shelves. Orbs of some sort, boxes, jars, figurines and an assortment of knives. The books she _did_ however find on the shelves were written in Japanese _and_ foreign language as well. She couldn't tell which language.

Katsuya sensing her curiosity, decided to fill her in. "I keep these weird things to scare the kids when they come to detention" He stood up, clearly dwarfing her. He was a tall man for his age. His lanky form made his head looked a bit bigger.

"What? The knives?" Matsumoto questioned. She went over and took one her hands and felt the heaviness of the metal. It was diamond shaped and thick. It reminded her of the ones Soifon- _taichou_ had. It also had the same ring on the top.

"Yeah, great punishment method"

Matsumoto gaped at him.

"Jokes, jokes" He grinned while looking at the report.

"You sadist"

"Better than nothing"

Silenced passed between them. Rangiku felt a little vulnerable for some reason. Being all alone with a very handsome principle in a room with closed doors and no one around. His stance looked _too_ normal, like he was planning and ambush, being cleverly busy with the folder.

'_Gah! I'm just too paranoid'_

"Thank you for the report by the way. I hope the students weren't too big a nuisance." He chuckled. That chuckled sent a shiver down her spine. She had the urge to lick her lips.

"Just doing my duty. Hey, Why did you become the principle by the way?"

Katsuya paused for second. Why did he become the principle? Like water he turned away from her and stepped behind his desk and faced the window. He took on a serious look but didn't show her. The gloomy feeling fell like slush in the room.

The sun outside was obscured by the clouds, casting a shadow over the school.

Matsumoto was confused with his sudden change of behaviour. She also felt a little on edge as well.

"Uh… I'm sorry if it's a touchy-"

"I came to _Seireitei _Academy because I wanted to make a difference" His tone was solemn and serious. The air around him became tense with each passing second. Katsuya stood rock still out the window, not a silvery strand of his hair moved. His eyes glazing over once again. Matsumoto didn't know if she should stay or go now. She never imagined him to be this serious.

The clouds passed past the sun fully and it was able to shine again, thus the shadow lifted.

"Say, now that you're here, how about a trip around the school?" Katsuya switched personality and walked over to Matsumoto with stretched out welcoming arms.

'_Erk!'_

Matsumoto furrowed her brows. "Since I'm really busy and my assistant principal is teaching an advanced class at the moment, I want you to do me a favour" His eyes were closed and turned upwards. He sported a cheery smile and pressed is face close to Matsumoto's

"Okay?"

"It'll give you a chance to explore the new school and see it's wonders. The layout is the same is it was built so you don't have to worry about getting lost"

"Alright then" She really didn't want to return to the office. She felt excitement bubbling up inside her at the chance to go on a different sort of adventure. Even if it's a school, adventure none the less.

"Please deliver this to a teacher. She will be in room 27D sitting in her chair at her desk doing whatever. She needs this" he handed her a letter with 'Your Name' written on it.

"What kind of joke is this?" Matsumoto waved the letter in his face. Who writes the addressee as 'Your Name'? How rude and lazy. But she was dying to try it out!

"Don't worry about that, just give it to the teacher sitting in that room" Katsuya turned to his cabinet on the right opened it, letting the stench of old _sake_ fill the room. Matsumoto was undeterred by the familiar smell.

"Ok then" _'I think I remember all the rooms'_

"Bye" she left with the letter and proceeded down out of the room and off to the direction she thought was room 27D.

* * *

The school was amazing! Everything was new, clean and colourful. There were different art works hanging on the walls, paintings that made sense and painting that didn't there were framed ink doodles made by someone famous here and there. Every now and then in corridors there were table stands with fresh white flowers in them. they gave off a calming scent. She peeked into classrooms and saw future _shinigami's _studying hard. She looked out the windows into the outdoor training grounds and saw more future _shinigamis_ practicing _kidou_.

She finally reached the blocks of room that had '27'

"27A… 27B… 27C… 27…Nothing?" there must have been some mistake. There was no 27D. It only stopped at C. Maybe she misheard the room number. No! she heard it right. Maybe it was his mistake?

She heard the click of a door being open and a girl came out. She looked 17 and short for her age. She was definitely foreign. European looking actually. She wore her green streaked- hair in a spiky bun held up by a needle and held some heavy text books in her hands. She wore what looked like a lab-coat from the 12th Division. She had a nice shade of honey coloured eyes.

"Umm, excuse me!" Matsumoto bounded to her.

"Hmm?" she held a packet of salted peanuts in between her lips.

"Can you tell me where room 27D is please?"

She spat out the packet, letting it drop onto her book. She gave a half- hearted chuckle. "You're kidding right?" she recognised the person she was talking to was a lieutenant rank, but she didn't care.

"No I'm dead serious; I'm looking for room 27D, because I'm supposed to give this letter to a teacher"

"Who's it addressed to?" the teacher asked.

"It's just says 'Your Name' on it" Matsumoto held out the envelope to prove her point.

"Look, I'm not in the mood for joking around" the teacher frowned at whatever practical joke that was playing. Who writes the addressee like that as a sick stunt but Naruto and Kiba? "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a another class to get ready for"

"No, no, no! I really was sent to give this to a teacher!"

"Well, I'm sorry because someone must be pulling your leg. There is no such thing as room 27D"

Matsumoto turned to stone.

"It only goes up to C" the teacher said more slowly to make sure the lieutenant understood. "There is nothing after C" she emphasised again. "As in D-"

"Ok, I understand you" Matsumoto was at boiling point for a certain principal who better watch out for his balls.

"Heh, he, he, There was a misunderstanding after all" Matsumoto's voice shook in desperately concealed anger. Though her face didn't show it.

"Glad that I could help" the teacher was about to turn away.

"OH! I didn't catch your name!"

The teacher turned around again and spoke. "Sherry Elric, nice to meet ya"

"I'm Matsumoto Rangiku!"

Sherry rolled her eyes and gave a smile "I know" she turned and walked away.

* * *

It was just that he was so bored lately. He was tired, fed up, stressed, but most of all bored. It was so tempting to make Rangiku go on a wild goose chase. Yes in his head he called her Rangiku. If he were to say it allowed, he would be denied the privilege immediately. Then again, he never said it out loud. All he had to wait for now, was the crash of his door, signifying the entrance of the busty blonde.

_CRASH!_

"KINOMOTO!" the lieutenant flew at him with grappling fingers.

"Hey there! Sorry for the misunderstanding but-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES!" Matsumoto slammed her hand down on his tables, leaving a threatening crack towards him. Katsuya stared at his table cautiously.

"You know, you can be put into prison for deceiving a _fukutaichou_? Minimum penalty 2 years!" Matsumoto waved her arms and stood her ground switching on her business mode and making herself look scary.

"What about this!" She held up the flopping envelope. "My woman's intuition told me it was joke but I failed to heed it but now I should've"

Katsuya didn't bat a lash. He grinned harmlessly at her.

"It's alright! Don't get your sword in a knot, I was about to tell you the addressee but you already left and so I thought you would eventually find the teacher" he defended himself with waving hands.

"What about the room number? It. Didn't. Exist" she seethed.

'_Damn she's fucking sexy when she's pissed'_

The tall silver- haired sat calmly in his chair. "I was about to tell you that too" he grinned apologetically.

"Who was it supposed to be for anyway?" Matsumoto narrowed her eyes.

"Sherry Elric"

"…"

'_I JUST MET THE GIRL 2 SECONDS AGO'_

"THAT'S IT! I'm putting you under arrest for deceiving an officer of-"

She turned around to see where the principal _shunpoed_ but was cut off by someone pinning her to the table. That someone was the only other person in the room, Kinomoto Katsuya. He placed his large hands on either side of her, thoroughly trapping her and pressed his thighs between her legs, preventing her from kicking. Matsumoto gasped form the sheer closeness of the principal, who was radiating heat from his being. His face was dangerously close to her ear and Matsumoto shuddered from his tickling breath. He smelt like cigarettes and pine.

"Do you? Do you _really_? I don't think that's what you want, given your current situation" He took a strong intake of her scent. Matsumoto's stomach gave a flutter. His thigh pressed harder into her and she almost groaned. His velvety voice left her wanting to hear more. She can feel him smirk into her hair.

God she hated being in problematic situations like these. Normally she would beat the shit out of the pervert but her woman's intuition told her that that would be an unwise decision for this man. She didn't heed the first warning, so she will heed this one. Something else told her that if she did try it, it would be _dangerous._

"Ah-" she felt his calloused hands make his way to the small of back, lifting her towards him but his head position never changed, meaning her body was going closer to his body. She can feel his other hand encircling her and then-

"KINOMOTO KATSUYA! I TURN MY BACK AWAY FOR ONE SECOND AND I FIND YOU HARASSING SOMEONE! HAVE YOU NO SHAME!?"

"Good afternoon Yura" Katsuya's tone was disappointing.

He let go of the lieutenant and backed- up, holding his hands up in surrender. Matsumoto heaved in her position, she almost couldn't believed she was about to be violated in a school.

The woman standing at the door, her hips akimbo was the most _beautiful_ woman she had ever seen. That's saying something because she always thought her self that she herself was the most beautiful of _Seireitei_. She was tall and postured, a sign of elegance. Her dazzling violet orbs shone with fire and fury. Her pale complexion rivalled the moon and an aristocratic face shape put the Kuchiki's under her thumb. Her slim slightly curved body was to die for. Her long silvery hair was pulled in a taut ponytail that reached her middle. Her lips were curved in a grim line of anger and her foot tapped impatiently for an explanation.

For one second Matsumoto thought she was noble, but what kind of noble would go for low a desk job?

"I apologise deeply for _his_" she shot a glare at the man rubbing his unkempt hair "inexcusable behaviour. I know you wish to press charges on him but we really need to have him here as I'm busy enough and can't take over as replacement"

Matsumoto thought about it.

"I promise you that I will punish him severely"

"Hey-­"

"_Shut. Up" _Yura hissed deadly venom in Katsuya's direction. He slumped back against the wall.

Matsumoto thought for a bit _'By the looks of her, she might use torture. Cool!'_

"Alright… but if it happens again, I'm throwing the book at him" She turned to Katsuya and gave him a withering glare and stalked out of the room with purpose.

When the lieutenant was gone, the two Kinomotos were the only ones in the room. Yura painfully turned her head towards Katsuya, her deep violet eyes shadowed. Murderous intent rolled off her in gigantic waves.

Katsuya sweatdropped. "Hey, there's no need to get overridden! It was just a friendly…uh… Yura please put your _kunai_ away…"

* * *

Hitsugaya trudged through the market square deep in his thoughts. He had just left a confidential meeting with _soutaichou_ and Ami about the rapidly advancing wedding. He needed to think of something to delay it. It was almost evening and the clouds were fast descendning. Looks like it was going to rain again.

He made his way to the market centre and sat on the edge of the fountain. The gentle sprinkling of the water helped soothed his growing migraine. He heard a rustle about 5 seats away from him and there he saw a little boy with a red woven satchel.

The boy looked no older than five. He had deep sea green hair and hazelnut eyes that were shaped like a cat's and were focused deeply in a _manga_. He noticed it was one of the volumes of a very popular _manga_ called _Rurouni Kenshin_. He often saw snippets of it in the newspapers, just below the _shinigami_ deathtoll. He wore a gray yukata with matching hakama. His feet were bare though. He reminded himself when he was young in _Rukongai_. The concentrated scowling face and the short stature. What was the kid doing here all by himself in the evening?

Hitsugaya got up and approached the boy. The boy, sensing a slight shadow cast upon him looked up questioningly. His large eyes blinked twice.

"Hello" Hitsugaya asked gently. He bent down to his level and kneeled letting his knee crack.

"…hi" he said cautiously, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. His chubby hands tightened on the hold on his precious _manga_.

"I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou, what's your name?" Hitsugaya didn't want to use his rank as not to frightened the kid.

"Ryoma"

"What are you doing here all by your self, Ryoma?"

"I'm waiting for my _okaa-san_ to pick me up"

* * *

**Is it another cliffy? Not sure, but you guys interpret the story in your own way. Who is Ryoma's mother I wonder...** **I know I used five- year-old Ryoma in my story, it's just that, he looks so cute when he was young~! If you don't like him, you don't have to think him as Echizen Ryoma. 'Ryoma' is just a name. Like Bella in Twilight is anyone's name. I got a friend name Isabella. **

**Did anyone identify Tsunade in the chapter? I did… duh**

**I'm not gonna apologise for my lateness (or lack thereof) you can come up with an excuse for me, whatever floats your boat. Ranging from attending Itachi's funeral to doing the Worlds Largest Caramel Dance Competition.**

**I recently posted another oneshot and... I don't think it did too well.  
**

**Read and REVIEW my supporters and non supporters! Criticism is appreciated.**

**TripWire- dono**


	11. Secrets

**I just finished my school certificate trials and I'm not happy…T-T… Those tests were ok but I wished I studied harder because if you fail one subject in the real school certificate, you fail ALL subjects, then you don't get the certificate. (It's not really a certificate; it's like your first official credential) I know that the majority of the people that read my fanfic are Americans and other countries so you guys are like "WTF, what's a school certificate?" it's a really big end of year test for year 10. Everyone studies hard for it.**

**The next one is EVEN BIGGER! There are some students who committed suicide for this one and it's called the HSC (Higher School Certificate). You do this in year 12, the last year of school before going to University or TAFE. It's bigger that any test you would've done in school. It's like an end of year 12 test that determines whether you get to a University or not and whether you'll get a career or not.**

**I'm gonna start on the next chapter now.**

**

* * *

  
**

_Recap:_

"_Hello" Hitsugaya asked gently. He bent down to his level and kneeled letting his knee crack._

"…_hi" he said cautiously, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. His chubby hands tightened on the hold on his precious manga._

"_I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou, what's your name?" Hitsugaya didn't want to use his rank as not to frighten the kid._

"_Ryoma"_

"_What are you doing here all by yourself, Ryoma?" _

"_I'm waiting for my okaa-san to pick me up"_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 11: Secrets**

"I'm late, I'm late, and I'm late!"

"Slow down, you wanna at least get out the door before you kill yourself"

"Sherry, I haven't been on a date in a reeeeeally long time, I'm not used to it" Sakura raced around through her closet and threw things in the air, tearing the small closet apart to look for a robe that didn't look like a uniform.

Sherry watched her friend run like a headless chicken with mild amusement. If she remembered correctly, Sakura told her that Hitsugaya- _taichou_ threatened her into a date. But if she trusted her instincts correctly, it was more like Sakura was exaggerating a mite to make herself look like the victim.

"I'm sure that it would be fine if you just went in your normal teachers' unif-"

"It's alright, I got it!" Sakura pulled out a nice looking _yukata _from the bottom of some box. It looked like it hadn't been worn in a long time. It was red and had pretty birds embroidered on the hem. There were shiny pieces of green fabrics shaped like leaves sewn in for those birds to sit on.

"That's really nice, where did you get it?"

"I got it for a birthday present from Hinata" Sakura peeled off her pyjamas and slipped on an undershirt before folding the _yukata_ around herself.

"Are you sure he isn't into real world clothes? It's the growing trend in _Seireitei_, 'cause if he does, you might wanna change into something that he will like"

Wearing real-world clothes were fashion these days.

"I'm pretty sure he likes traditional, well, he looks like a traditional person. Besides, Western clothes don't look that great on me"

Sakura slipped on her _geta_ sandals and checked the time. "Oh, I'm 10 minutes late" Sakura groaned. She smoothed her pink hair down and ran as fast (and as carefully) down to the entrance hall.

"Where does he meet you?" Sherry asked.

"At the park bench next to the fountain" said Sakura.

"You better hurry" Sherry grabbed the door and ushered Sakura out.

"Good luck for me, yeah?" Said Sakura.

"Sure I guess" Sherry smiled at Sakura.

"Nothing" Sakura shook her head and gave her an assuring smile. "Oh, make sure that he behaves him self ok?"

"Yeah. Now. Run fast" Sherry commanded. They both waved their goodbyes and Sakura left her property. The Elric closed the door with a swift snap and locked it safely.

"Did you hear that!" she bellowed up the stairs "Your _okaasan_ told you to behave!" Sherry skipped back to the living room and made herself comfortable on the _tatami_. She peeked around the corner and saw a pair and pudgy hands gripping onto a _Rurouni Kenshin_ manga. The owner of the manga frowned at her with contempt.

"Did _kaasan_ really have to go on a date today?" he asked.

* * *

Maybe he shouldn't have been that pushy. Hitsugaya checked the sun a second time. She was ten minutes late. He sighed. He actually came about five minutes late to the designated time because he was having a fight with Ami and forgot that today he was going to drag Sakura into his date. Luckily she was going arrive later so she wouldn't have to yell at him.

Maybe Sakura won't come? Nah, he threatened to make the school pay for his destroyed furniture out of her pay. He smirked.

There was a cough behind him. He swivelled his head around to see Sakura was there. He looked at what she was wearing. She actually dressed up really nicely in traditional clothing and it looked really pretty on her. Thank god she wasn't like those fashion grabbers. Here he was still in his everyday captain uniform. Maybe he should've changed quickly.

"You know, I'm only here because I don't want to get my pay taken out, so don't get any ideas" Sakura crossed her arms firmly.

"Yeah I know" he said.

"Where are we going?" Sakura took his arm and he guided her out of the park.

"This really nice hotpot restaurant that you would like"

"I'm also here for a free meal" she shot him a winning smile and he just rolled his eyes.

Hitsugaya thought she looked really stunning in such simple clothing. It was plain but it really suited her. She didn't do anything with her hair, just left it out. It blew gently in the wind and passed on a fragrance that tingled his noise.

"What are you staring at?" Sakura frowned.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, it's pretty unnerving" Sakura blushed a little from his intense stare. She had to admit (again) that he was terrifically handsome. But that didn't mean she was interested or anything. Did it?

After a few short walks around the streets, they arrived at a very busy business restaurant. There were people queuing up to get in and the lines reached a long distance. Sakura looked nervously around. The place was crowded and it looked like the front was about to split apart from the number of people squashed at the front desk. Hitsugaya weaved in and out of the throng and came up to the front desk.

"I have a reservation for Hitsugaya Toushirou" He said. The people behind grumbled at the pair and shot Sakura dirty looks.

"Ah, yes of course! Erm, would you like a private room, window or outside?"

"Private room"

Sakura coughed into her sleeve, she had read a lot of _manga_ that involved this type of situation where the boyfriend reserves a private room in the restaurant for the girlfriend and weird spicy things happen behind the screen.

She just hoped that he was nothing like that. But could he?

"You know, I don't think this will appear to be a superficial date" Hitsugaya slid the rice paper door open for Sakura.

Once they settled comfortably he began to pour green tea into their cups.

"Ne, Hitsugaya-_taichou_, is the wedding plans going smoothly?"

He froze up upon the mention of _wedding_ but resumed pouring tea as if it had no effect. "If everything turns out the way I want it then, we would have a frozen up wedding studio in our hands."

"I see, so it's going wonderfully smoothly"

The waitress appeared again with two menus in hand.

"We won't need those" said Hitsugaya. "We'll have rice, the hotpot special with a side of sweet potato salad"

"Alright, enjoy your stay" The waitress graciously slid the door shut, her silhouette disappeared.

"Hm, is this hotpot special any good?" asked Sakura.

"Never tried it so I wouldn't know" Hitsugaya drank his tea calmly.

'_Irk!'_ thought Sakura.

She tightened he grip onto her teacup, despite its heat and started to chug it down, letting the searing heat cascade down her throat. It was the only way to stop herself from making a snide remark.

"So, have you finished the book I leant you?" asked Hitsugaya.

"No, but I'm halfway. It's really interesting so far"

"The wandering samurai was the culprit in the end"

"WHAT?!"

Sakura slammed her tea cup onto the table, creating an enormous clang that should've shattered the ceramic to a million pieces but it didn't.

"Um, I was just joking…" Hitsugaya looked slightly taken aback.

She slumped into a heap then gave a sigh of defeat. She just wished that he would be at least tolerable for one darn evening. But it looked like it was going to be a one long one.

* * *

"And I said, no girl! That ain't gonna happen! And she was like 'Bro that was totally head on!'" Sakura swayed dangerously on the spot. After eating four bowls of rice left with an empty hotpot and an empty teapot and half of the sweet potato salad left, she thought it would be alright for a bit of _sake_ since the captain was treating.

Hitsugaya made a mental note never, ever, ever order the sweet potato salad again, it made him sick to the stomach. What did they use, Chinese MSG?

He merely listened to her blatant rant and opted to stare at her pink face. She looked really cute when she was tipsy. Her nice yukata was all ruffled and her hair was strewn over her face, but she didn't care. The snowy captain lifted his cup of _sake_ and took a careful deliberate sip. Being around Ukitake and Shunsui on there _sake_ nights had allowed him to the wonders of the effect of alcohol and he learnt to hold his drink.

Unfortunately with the other two captain, who have been drinking buddies of a number of years still haven't learnt to do that.

"Hey, Hitsugaya, hic, _taichou_, you don't happen to be deliberately getting me drunk to jump me later are ya?"

Sakura pointed her fingers a lot to the left of Hitsugaya, her dodgy eyesight trained onto the painting behind him. Toushirou placed his cup down and smiled back at her.

"Well, of course not dear Haruno Sakura, I wouldn't dream of doing something like that. After all I'm a respected captain" he said as if she was still sober.

"Well, well. Because if you are, it won't work on me!" she jabbed a thumb in her chest pointing it out. Unfortunately she pressed so hard, the layers fell upon revealing her cleavage and she fell down from the force.

Hitsugaya got up, but it was too late, she passed out.

"I think it's time to go now…" he slid the door upon and called for the bill, seconds later it came and he placed a coupe of thousand _yens. _Unfortunately, the young waiter was gaping at Sakura's crumpled attire and shot nervous glances at Hitsugaya.

"She just had too much to drink" he spoke in a calm voice. When the young waiter still didn't leave he growled at him making the poor boy apologise and scurried away.

Toushirou assessed the situation. His analytical mind sifted through the options and possibilities to handle the girl without any fuss of trouble.

He carefully picked her up bridal style and weaved in and out through the front door. He decided the best course of action was to take her home.

Once he arrived into the dark and silent neighbourhood, he looked for his house first and went opposite. The small and quaint abode across from him was indeed Haruno Sakura's. He guessed that it was around 9:30pm. When he moved to her front door, he balanced Sakura's rump with his right knee and pulled his right arm from under her to try the door.

It was locked.

Until he heard a click from the inside and the knob turned slowly with a soft creak.

"Oh my gosh! Sakura!" Hitsugaya peered through the darkness and into the lit house. There stood the German girl he was acquainted with, busily pulling the drunk pink headed girl from his grasp and dragged her none too kindly through the _genkan_ and into the living room before dropping her gently onto the _tatami_ mat.

"Hitsugaya- _taichou_, what happened? I've never seen Sakura drunk before" Sherry quickly went into the kitchen to get some painkillers for Sakura when she roused from her sleep.

"We had a quiet dinner until she ordered some _sake_" Hitsugaya quietly looked around the house again.

He noticed there were more things in the room than last time.

There was photo frame next to a gold fish bowl, except there wasn't any gold fish in it and it was quickly being invaded by algae. He picked it up and took in the photo. It consisted of her and a young boy no more that five years old. He looked really familiar. Sea green hair and brown cat shaped eyes. He had a pudgy face and hands to match and he smiled cheekily through the camera lens.

Had he seen him somewhere before? In the market square before? Was this her son?

A clatter alerted his senses and he placed the photo back next to the sad empty fish bowl

He sat onto the mat and ghosted his fingers over her face. Her closed eyes scrunched up and wiggled her noise in annoyance through her sleep. Her face and neck were still flushed with red from her escapade with lemon flavoured _sake_.

Once Sherry came back with a bottle of medicine and cool wet towel, she immediately padded Sakura's red neck to cool her down

"Did you guys have fun?" she spoke.

"It was a pleasant evening"

"Is that all? _Just_ pleasant" Sherry quirked a brow.

"Well, if you count me watching in amusement as she embarrassed herself while drunk and spilling out her secrets" Hitsugaya leaned back onto the couch.

"What kind of secrets?" Sherry spoke in a small deliberate voice. She sounded slightly anxious and tense.

Hitsugaya turned his attention to her curiously. What kind of secrets would she be worried Sakura could spill? The said girl gurgled while Sherry accidently covered her friend's nose and mouth with the wet towel, which was most likely suffocating her.

"Different sorts of secrets" Hitsugaya chose his words carefully. He watched as her serious expression darkened and her eyes glinted with worry.

"Quit screwing around! What did she tell you!" Sherry yelled at him. The place was silent, not even the crickets chirped.

The room suddenly became frigidly cold, the burst of _reiatsu _soared through the house and Hitsugaya kept silent, daring her to yell at him again.

"Please Hitsugaya- _taichou_, did she tell you about… us?" She said.

_Us? Were they lesbians or something?_ As far as he knew, Sakura, through her slurs were back stabbing some employees at the academy. Granted they were secrets, but they weren't that bad.

He decided to see if he can bluff and find out what this secret was

'_**You are very sneaky master'**_

"Yes, she did"

'_Oh, no! We're in trouble. Kinomoto is going to kill us!'_

Sherry chewed her lip as she removed the towel. The mask was gone and the fort was left open. She thought of all the things that would happen to her, everyone.

"I didn't think we could pull it off for this long, but all good things must come to an end, right?" she gave an empty chuckle. She pushed her self back and sat across from Hitsugaya with Sakura sleeping soundly in the middle.

She sighed and made a mental apology to the Kinomoto, as if willing him to here it.

"Until tonight that is" said Hitsugaya.

It was alright if a normal _Shinigami_ knew, because she could just knock him out and make him think it was dream. But this was a captain, one of the best, sharpest and merciless captains of the Gotei13. It was impossible to make one fly by him.

"What did she say first of all?"

"…the school" his voice was even and calm.

"Well, of course. The school is in tip top shape but there are the underground works. We… also have some other commitments apart from educating the students.

"Right" Hitsugaya ticked off the piece of information.

Sherry didn't know how to explain it. She wished she was wearing her lucky gold hair needle to reassure her even though there was nothing magical about it.

"Go on"

Sherry dried her cracked lips and looked up to meet his eyes and faltered slightly. Teal bore through honey yellow. _'Father, please forgive me for what I'm about to do'_

"Not all of us are from Soul Society or the Human world"

* * *

The night market was alive and filled with people dressed in vibrant coloured _kimonos. _Every fortnight, the streets would set up lots of food and gift vendors and game booths to celebrate the end of the period. **(A/N: in my story, the shinigami's patrol roster cycles every 2 weeks. At the end of the 2 weeks, they celebrate the end of the roster. Since being a Shinigami is dangerous, it's worth celebrating that you're not eaten up by a hollow yet on your patrols, as it often happens)**. A hand slid out from the folds of a midnight black kimono and paused over the bright yellow, plump mango in the box of the fruit shop.

Delicate texture, large and plump, firm and fragrant. It truly was a sexy fruit. _But_, the pale hand turned it around to reveal a ghastly brown bruise, initially concealed by the pampered front.

_What a waste_

"Yura- _san_!" the acknowledged young lady placed the fruit down and turned towards the voice. "How would you like to have your fortune told?" an old lady with a very large layered kimono came outside her tent and smiled warmly at her.

"Would you like _meisen, bokusen _or_ sousen_?" she offered with her gnarled hand.

"No thankyou, maybe next time" Yura gave her a gracious smile and walked away with a confident stride. The air around her seemed to lift people's eyes to her being. Her satin kimono slid effortlessly around her thigh, full accentuating her figure as she walked through a narrow space made on instinct by the citizens.

"That woman" the old fortune telling lady chuckled to herself "She should have been born a noble. She would have experience greater things. But then again she will experience _extraordinary_ things in her current life" the old lady shuffled back into her tent to get ready for her next client.

Yura slowly looked at all the different stores to see all the wonderful things they had to offer. There were lots of bartering going on and people looked just so happy. What she really wanted to look at were the butchery and vegetable shops. "Perhaps I should make chicken _karaage_ and sweet potato dessert tomorrow…"

She began to move out of the throng but came face to face with someone's chest. It was broad and she could feel the heat emanate from it. The chest was dressed in black and white robes and was encased by a white _haori_. The neck was covered by long silk scarf that billowed softly.

Yura's violet eyes widened at the close proximity by more so to the realisation on who she just confronted.

"Pardon me Kuchiki- _taichou_"

"Hn"

The beautiful Kinomoto didn't frown at his lack for words since she knew that was how he is. She watched as he just stood there, staring at the feminine gifts that are displayed on white table cloths. There were jewellery boxes, hair pins, rings, necklaces, combs bracelets and sachets of sweet smelling dried flower petals and bark.

"You are the last person I would expect to mingle with everyone here" Yura tried to make conversation.

Kuchiki shot her a look from his deep orbs, daring her to say more. He thought the same for her as she looked like a really bratty rich noble.

Like he used to be.

He observed her from the corner of his eyes. She definitely dressed, fit for royalty, but he had to question the fabric of her _kimono_. Satin, such cheap fabric for a person like her

'_**Then why is her basket filled with inexpensive items, food mostly'**_

_Senbonzakura_ made the Kuchiki wonder. She also looked familiar, from a newspaper? She looked incredibly spectacular.

The deputy principal of Seireitei Academy.

"Well, I'll be on my way then" she turned to leave but a voice reached her ears, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"I'm looking for a present for my sister- in- law's birthday"

His deep velvet voice was quiet, but she heard it over the noise of the throng. She turned back round with the basket of bread and dried food clasped by her side.

"Oh?" she inquired. He was slightly interested in what he had said. "Why didn't you send your servants to do it for you?"

She felt the air shift in discontent from her words. He merely stood rock still like always, his eyes trained solely on the glittering merchandise. After a while he spoke.

"It would mean more from the heart, if I were to purchase it myself"

"I see, do you need any help?" Yura noticed that they were staying at the same shop for a while and all he did was stare at the items. The middle age man that ran the store sweat dropped.

"Rukia-_san _is a warm and gentle person. She cares a lot for others and never fails to carry out her duty. However, she is a stubborn, bold and strong. She has a good sense of justice and will protect those close to her. Though she is still fragile on the inside hiding behind a confident and fickle front and sometimes alone and insecure. It's a good thing that Kurosaki Ichigo came into her life, _ne_"

Byakuya stared at her and her soaked in her words. He was slightly taken a back that this woman would know so much about Rukia and she knew the Kurosaki boy too. Byakuya closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He knew if he opened them again, he would meet the hypnotising, deep, violet orbs of the strangely alluring woman.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Kuchiki Rukia through Ukitake- _taichou_ one time and I had the opportunity to talk with her and got to know her. In that short amount of time, we have become close acquaintances"

"Aa"

"So I suggest you should buy this delphinium and gladiolas hair comb. Delphium and gladiolas are flower symbols of all I just said. Also, the hair comb will remind her of her late sister and your late wife Hisana's wonderful memories.

Yura picked it up delicately and showed it to him. The white and purple flowers were made of glass and the comb itself was made ebony. The light weight of the hair accessory felt as light as feathers in his fingers.

"Beautiful craftsmanship" commented Yura. "Fine for a girl like Rukia-_san_"

"Indeed it is" Byakuya turned to look at her soft features, glowing in the different coloured celebratory lanterns. She was taller than most women, bust she was still not as tall as he. Tight posture and bent back shoulders. Her long silver hair was pinned with a magnolia clip and the stray tresses framed her face.

"I think I will be going now, since I need to pack all this away" she hefted the basket and walked away.

"Your name. Kinomoto Yura, correct?" Byakuya spoke.

"_Hai_, it is"

With that Kinomoto Yura gave one last look before disappearing into the dissipating crowd.

* * *

"You are not from Soul Society-" Hitsugaya was cut off from a loud tired yaw from upstairs. He turned around and was met with the face of the boy fro the photo frame. He had definitely met him before and he had to conclude, he was Sakura's son. He wore dark blue pyjamas that looked like was a gift from the human world and his hair was all tousled and bedridden. His sleepy eyes blinked away the stray tears that one often gets when waking from one's slumber.

"Did _kaa-san_ finally come home auntie Sherry?" he said tiredly.

"Yes, she did Ryoma"

"Why is mummy on the floor sleeping?"

"She had a wild evening" said Hitsugaya.

The little boy named Ryoma was more awake now at the familiar voice. His eyes opened wide and blinked at the very prominent _taichou_.

"You're a guy"

Sherry sweat dropped.

"…yes, I am" Hitsugaya said.

"Were you the one that dated _kaa-san_?" Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "If you are, then I don't like you" he said indignantly.

"Then I don't like you too" Hitsugaya simply said.

"I don't want you going out with mummy anymore" Ryoma huffed.

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't need another man in her life"

"What makes you think you are a man, brat?"

"I'm not a brat, I'm five years old! I'm a man and I can do _kenjutsu_"

"Is that so? Still what's wrong with me taking your mum on a date?"

Hitsugaya leaned closer to Ryoma, trying to scare him with his icy, cold stare. But the boy was resilient and sent back a mini version of the glare. Sherry can practically see the electrical current of tension between there minds as they stare each other down.

"I don't like you even more" Ryoma hissed through gritted teeth.

"So do I" Hitsugaya stated coolly.

"Umm, Ryoma, if _kaa-san_ wakes up and finds out you're still not in bed, there's gonna be trouble" Sherry chastised him.

"I'm not going to bed until _he_ leaves" Ryoma stabbed a finger in Hitsugaya's direction.

The irritable captain looked like he wanted bite the annoying brat's finger off.

"_Ryoma…_" Sherry threatened.

He stayed for just few more moments to glare at Hitsugaya, which the said person ignored and then stomped upstairs, assumingly to go to bed, muttering bad words under his breath.

Sherry gave an exhausted sigh, exhausted from anxiety, stress, tension and definitely claustrophobia because was it just her or did the room seemed to shrink with Hitsugaya in the middle of it.

She felt his eyes turned back at her.

"This conversation continues now"

* * *

**Hitsugaya and Sakura's date was uneventful as I set it up that way. I set it up like that to create the abnormally nervous Sherry being subtly interrogated.**

**A mango is a sexy fruit? Well, I think it is. It's absolutely alluring that I want to eat up and suck on the flesh. Then again, the peach also has a sexy velvety texture =v=.**

**Ah! And we have the confrontation between Ryoma, Sakura's son with Hitsugaya, Sakura's date. Immediately, they took a dislike to each other. Hitsugaya that sneaky bastard, trying to bluff Sherry into giving him answers. What did she mean they weren't part of neither Soul Society nor the human world? Hitsugaya will find out even if he's gonna have to torture a few people… that's just creepy.**

**Anyways, Byakuya and Yura meet each other at the markets. That part was hard to right because Yura is normal a formal person, but when by her self she can let herself go a bit. In this chapter, she is less uptight. I'm not sure if Kuchiki is OOC, let me know. Rukia's character description according to Yura, I ASSUME it's acceptable, I don't know that much about Rukia.**

**Meisen**: refers to methods of reading fortunes based on birthdays, including various versions of Eastern and Western astrology.

**Bokusen**: uses objects to offer divinations for those seeking advice on decision-making. I Ching, Tarot cards and crystal-gazing belong to this genre.

**Sousen**: involves divinations based on visual perception, including palmistry, physiognomy, feng shui and dream interpretation.

**I'm really sorry for the long update, I apologise Souji! I shall reprimand myself for my laziness. But then again, I don't get paid for this…**

**Anyways! Have a happy new year and a belated Christmas!**

**Read and REVIEW my darlings!**

**TripWire- dono**


	12. Freedom

**It is a beautiful morning on the last day of December! Yawn! I went and saw Avatar directed by James Cameron the other day and it was absolutely MAGNIFICENT! That was the best movie I ever watched, in 3D! 0v0. at the end of the session I got a head ache but it was all worth it~. I didn't take a Panadol after because I wanted to treasure it forever XD.**

**I am currently on holidays and doing maths revision and other science revision… *sigh*. I'm in year 11 now and I still feel like I'm in 10. You know that feeling? GETTING RIGHT ON NOW! This chapter is gonna be hard to right, I can feel it in my bones, especially my finger bones. **

**Also, I updated this sooner as further compensation for my 2month long over due. BE GRATEFUL! because I am, getting the chance to write this  
**

**Here is the awaited chapter!**

**

* * *

  
**

_**Recap:**_

_Sherry gave an exhausted sigh, exhausted from anxiety, stress, tension and definitely claustrophobia because was it just her or did the room seemed to shrink with Hitsugaya in the middle of it._

_She felt his eyes turned back at her._

"_This conversation continues now"_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 12: Freedom**

The conversation did continue and Sherry knew that.

"Can we put Sakura to bed first before I start talking again?"

Hitsugaya thought for a while "Ok, and then no more stalling". He gently picked up Sakura's limp form bridal style and proceeded up the stairs. Ryoma spied out of the crack of his door and glared at the man who posed a threat to him and his mother with absolute loathing. Hitsugaya didn't miss the over whelming emotion emitting from he correctly assumed the little boy but paid no mind to it. He needed to tuck Sakura to bed quickly so he can get a move on with what the Elric had to say.

"Her rooms here"

They ventured down the hall and into through the pink and green door.

"For goodness sakes Ryoma! Go to bed!" Sherry yelled through gritted teeth. The sound or rustling and the springs of the bed indicated.

She was feeling the stress only reserved for prisoners of war and she didn't need to have anyone eavesdropping later whether they were old enough to understand or not. To top it off, she was responsible for Ryoma when Sakura is away, and she is still 'away' so she had to make sure the little brat went to bed on time lest being scolded by her for laziness and promises! WHY CAN'T EVERYTHING BE SIMPLE!

'_**Take it easy Sherry, there might be a way out to this'**_

'_No Levi, there isn't a way out to this' _Sherry groaned to her _zanpakutou_.

She guided him into the room and he placed her on the bed. Sakura's heart-shaped face was a little less flushed, but she still looked like she needed an aspirin in the morning. Through the commotion downstairs, she didn't stir one bit.

"We'll just leave her there. She won't mind waking up in _sake_ stench clothing" She sighed.

They trekked downstairs and made themselves comfortable in the dimly lit living room. The eerie silence was too much to bear for her.

"I'm not a _Shinigami_; I'm what you call an Alchemist"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Alchemist?"

"It's a sort of like scientist, except we have powers and stuff that are linked to the laws of alchemy, for example _The Law for Equivalent Exchange_. We can do anything, but we don't produce something out of nothing. There has to be an equal property, mass and weight. For example"

Sherry slipped her hands into her teachers' uniform and pulled out a small white glove. A smoking ashy smell invaded his nostrils. She slipped it on. The image of the strange red, circular symbol etched itself into Hitsugaya's mind, no matter how intricate and complicated it was.

This was something to ask Kyouraku and Ukitake to research later.

"This is a Transmutation Circle, it allows me to draw energy from the earth and create what I can. For me, it is fire and anything else related to it. My gloves are made of the same material as flint, so when I snap my fingers, it creates a spark and I can adjust the oxygen in the air to create my explosion or fire. But I won't blow anything up here, because Sakura will be very angry at me."

Instead she snapped her fingers and a flame grew from the tip of her fingers, illuminating Hitsugaya's teal eyes, filled with wonder, anticipation and suspicion.

"If this sort of power isn't found in Soul Society, then I'm from a different world"

Spoken like a true scientist, Hitsugaya noted.

"And in having this you do realise that this poses as a threat to Soul Society and that as a captains, I have to arrest you and your group of friends and thrown into the detention centre and for further interrogation?"

"Can you just wait a _darn_ minute and let me continue! Jeez, I'm in enough trouble as it is with my _own_ people than with the _Shinigami_ crap!" Sherry stuffed her gloves in her pockets and growled at Hitsugaya. He glared at her before his face again became impassive.

"I'm originally from a place called Amestris, the Alchemic World where alchemy is everywhere. But like everyone, they must die, but unfortunately I died with my friends and with my family and some of the enemy fighting the rotten evil that stained our world"

Hitsugaya noted everything what she was saying. "Why was our world destroyed?"

"We were searching for something called the Philosopher's Stone, or the Elixir of Life. Have you heard of it?" she asked.

"It is a substance that grants the holder immortality. Right?"

"Bingo, you know a lot of stuff there, _taichou_" she further continued.

"Reading helps"

"Anyway, the only way to create a Philosopher's Stone was to sacrifice human lives. Not just one for a small stone, but thousands! The enemy were literally monsters and they did this. They created their prototype philosopher's stone and fused it into human beings to create Homunculi, an immortal monster"

"The enemy planned a world wide massacre using alchemy to create the full philosophers stone. AND OF COURSE WE COULDN'T LET THEM DO THAT!"

Sherry yelled at Hitsugaya as if he was to blame. "And then we died… fighting them to the death and it was all in vain, they succeeded"

"We saw what we called, the _Gate of Truth_. It was an alchemic gate that theoretically linked worlds and _that_ decided we would go to afterlife. So we landed in the _German Branch of Soul Society_"

"That's preposterous; I have never heard of a German branch, it's just Soul Society as a whole. A captain would've known about it" Hitsugaya couldn't believe what she was saying. It was truly impossible that there was such thing as _another_ Soul Society!

"I'm not finished yet" Sherry shoved through gritted teeth. She ran her hands through her fringe in desperation. That solution isn't coming out anywhere.

"There, we stayed for a number of years about 4 I think and we soon learnt that the world Amestris… was completely destroyed!"

_BAM!_

Sherry slammed her fist onto the _chabudai. _Tears trickled from her eyes and she sobbed quietly. No, her father would chastise her for crying and being sad.

"Our homeland, our world that we shedded blood, sweat and tears and worked so hard to bring peace, justice and equality, collapsed under the short reign of the enemy. There's no such thing as Amestris anymore, physically, but in our hearts, we are still Amestrians" Sherry sighed.

"You were part of the military"

"Huh? What? How did you know?" her voice shook in surprise.

"The loyalty and dedication to your country is admirable and so is your talk of peace and justice. Those words can only be spoken by a soldier"

"…Yeah, I was"

"Please continue" Hitsugaya said while leaning back into the soft chair making himself comfortable.

"Yes, well, we had no choice but to start a new life and make something of ourselves again. My father entered the new military and quickly passed through the ranks and became general of Head Quarters 13 or HQ13 as we like to call it. He was at an even higher rank than when he was alive!"

Sherry gave a bitter chuckle.

"Then, he met someone who claimed he was from the _Land of the Shinobis_. They became good friends. He said that he can get Edward, Alphonse, Winry and I a job in the Japanese Branch of Soul Society if only we worked of him"

"Is that so?" Hitsugaya said. "Would that person possibly be Kinomoto Katsuya?"

"Yes, Sakura told you?"

"No, just an educated guess. Keep going"

"That is also where Sakura, Yamanaka, Shikamaru and the rest are also from. They are _shinobis _still"

"Kinomoto also made a pact with another organisation called the _Akatsuki_, from their world. I don't know much about them though. All I know is that they are currently staking out in Hueco Mundo, gathering information for him"

"What… How did he get them into Hueco Mundo without Aizen's knowledge?"

"Well, shinobis are masters of disguises and are ninjas, so… they got in their own style, I suppose"

"That's handy isn't it? Having these shinobis mingling with our people under lies, deceit and disguises. That's a great threat indeed. Is Sakura her real name then?"

"Yeah it is" Sherry deadpanned.

"What does all this information mean exactly?" Hitsugaya leaned forward.

"Kinomoto Katsuya is… trying to take over the _Gotei13_, to kill Aizen and his allies"

* * *

"ACHOO!" somewhere in the middle of a mountain of paperwork. Kinomoto Katsuya wiped his nose with a tissue. He yawned and continued reading over dilapidation reports and other school budgets that he swore he already did hours ago.

"Yura, some sexy _fukutaichou_ must be talking about me" he grinned like a little kid at his assistant.

"Nonsense, it's just you. You're not worth talking about anyway" she stapled some sheets together.

"Yura~!"

* * *

"What makes you think he won't turn on you, since he is the master of lies?"

"He's the good guy! He wants to kill Aizen and his allies just like you do! But to do that, he needs to use you guys"

"Still what makes you think he won't betray you _after_ he finishes his conquest?"

"We all believe in him"

"What ever the case wouldn't it have been better to have allied himself with the Gotei13 rather than taking over?"

"Well, I don't think the Central46 would give him a fair go" Sherry sighed.

"That's true, they would probably hand him over to Mayuri"

"Kinomoto thinks and I quote: _'The gotei13 are a bunch of lazy fags who don't know what to do or even have a clue on what the hell Aizen's up to. They don't even know how to control their own people. Such a waste, they have all these great fighters and resources but they don't know shit on how to use them properly!"_

"And he thinks he can do a better job then _soutaichou_?" Hitsugaya cocked an eyebrow.

"That's exactly what he thinks. His aim is to get into the seat of the Head Captain and sort the Aizen business out."

"He is quiet a power hungry character isn't he?"

"You ain't seen anything yet"

"He'll never achieve the _soutaichou_ position. The other captains aren't going to vote him in, central46 aren't going to let him through and he won't be able to defeat Yamamoto _soutaichou_ in front of 200 _shinigami's_ anyway"

"Like I said, you ain't seen anything yet"

"Are you saying that because you trust him or is he that powerful?"

"Both"

"Well you haven't seen what the _Gotei13_ can do either"

* * *

Sakura's groaned from the pounding head ache. She couldn't get the sound of the cawing midnight crow that perched itself on her window ledge and crowed for all the attention it could get.

'_Stupid bird I could've had a full 12 hours worth of sleep and call in sick for tomorrow'_

The cawing of the crow continued its deadly song. Sakura knocked on her window and the bird flew away, still cawing its annoying music until it faded into the night.

"There better be an aspirin around her" the room spun around and blurred into different colours and shapes. She felt like she was going to be sick. She smelt the horrible _sake _smell from her clothes and scrunched up her face.

"Sorry Hinata".

Indeed she did find the aspirin on her bedside table. She praised the lord and gulped it down without water. It would take a while before the medicinal effects came.

"I gotta take a shower" she staggered to her bathroom and stripped and got into the shower. After about twenty minutes, she was fresh and ready to get out and get a coffee. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep anyway, so might as well read something.

One thing tugged at her mind. Where was Hitsugaya Toushirou? Her date for tonight. _'Don't tell me he dumped me at my doorstep and got Sherry to drag me in'_

She tracked through her memories to find out what happened. Okay, she was having a nice dinner with him, but the conversation left something to be desired, especially in the common courtesy department, but other than that, it was ok. She remembered the sweet potato salad was gross, Yura could've taught them how to make better one. Sakura drooled at the thought of 'Yura_ Cuisine'_. That woman was in a league of her own.

But moving along. She remembered, ordering _sake_ and that was when everything went wrong… she went back stabbing anyone she could think of at school, EVEN THE STUDENTS! What a bad and disgraceful teacher she was. It was understandable she was cursing and bitching about her colleagues, but about the students, crossed the line.

She hoped to dear god that Hitsugaya didn't fink on her to Katsuya-_san_ or there might be hell to pay. She remembered vaguely having the name 'Katsuya' and 'retarded idiot' in the same sentence.

Sakura snuggled up into her bathrobe and slipped into some warm socks and went out into the hallway.

Voices reached her ears and she knew they were Sherry, who sounded like she was in distress, and Hitsugaya's cold ones. The pink haired shinobi pressed herself against the wall, just millimetres from the stair railing and decided to eavesdrop on what they were saying. Some words also reached her ears. Words no other _Shinigami_ or ANYONE for that matter should here.

"SHERRY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Sakura ran down stairs and halted in front of the two people. Her eyes were wide and frightened and also angry.

"Sakura!" Sherry gasped.

"You're awake Sakura" Hitsugaya said.

"That's Haruno to you" She glared at him. "Sherry, why are you telling him all of this!"

"Because you told him first!" Sherry yelled back. "You just had to be drunk and spilled just about everything!"

"WHAT! No I didn't, I was talking about my miseries about work"

"So if you didn't then-"

The two distraught girls stopped their bickering and slowly turned their heads towards the smirking captain on the couch.

"Does this make me the master of lies now? Just like one of you _shinobis_"

"You... y-ou… how- tricked m-me?" sherry lifted a trembling finger to point at her face.

"Indeed I did in order to get the information I wanted. It's nothing personal, Sherry Elric, Alchemist of Amestris"

"How did you do it?"

"Elric can tell you all that" he gestured his hand at the flustered Sherry.

"He… told me you spilled out everything while you were drunk and he said there was no turning back now and he demanded me to tell everything or he won't leave" sherry said.

"More or less" Hitsugaya commented.

"I can't believe you fell for it Sherry!" Sakura threw a cushion at her friend.

"You would've fell for it too!" she threw it back.

"Well, how about I go visit Kinomoto now to get the full story?"

"WAIT! NO!" both girls stopped and yelled in earnest at him.

"Why not, the cat's out of the bag now and why not go the leader of all this?" Hitsugaya already had one foot out of the door, ready to shunpo to the school.

'_**In the middle of the night? The school's closed and the principal's probably retired for the night'**_

'_I'm just bluffing again'_

"We'd get in really deep shit if he knew. So please, I'm begging you, don't tell anyone" Sakura folded her arms and looked away.

Hitsugaya thought for a moment. The other captains don't need to know this for a while now. "Ok, if you people harm anyone in soul society, or pose a real threat, then I will reveal everything to _soutaichou_ and have everybody in the school arrested. Clear?"

They nodded their heads in defeat.

"Good, but right now, I want to hear you side of the story Sakura" Hitsugaya smirked at her.

"Oh, alright" Sakura and the rest went back into the living and sat down.

"As you probably already know, I'm a ninja. NOT the ones in kung fu movies with the weird noises and wears all black with a hooded mask"

"We were from the world of the Shinobis. During my time, was a great war between the Sound, Mist and Rock Ninja's vs. the Leaf and Sand ninjas and other smaller nations. We were on the Sand and Leaf side. The enemy wanted to take over the world and they had a personal grudge against us too"

"Our fifth _Hokage_ or leader of the Leaf shinobis was injured and out of action, but the next person in line as the sixth leader was to be Kinomoto Katsuya, a very high ranking Shinobi, classed as ANBU Captain Leader"

"But then, we all died fighting the enemy, Orochimaru, a sick traitor from the Sound. All of us, our whole group, including Katsuya and his sister Yura. The last thing we remembered was an enormous red seal glowing beneath our feet before, the whole world in front of us disappeared"

"And you landed somewhere in _Rukongai_ right?"

"Yeah. We were told this was the afterlife from the Rukongai people. So we assumed we were dead"

"What was the deal with the Akatsuki?" Hitsugaya processed all the information and how it linked with each other.

"You told him that too?" Sakura looked at Sherry incredulously.

"Well, what the hey" Sherry shrugged.

"The Akatsuki were also the enemy but somehow, Katsuya made a deal with them and now they are working for us, but more like working for him"

"Anyway, shortly after we were granted passage into Seireitei and entered the academies ourselves, Katsuya disappeared back into Rukongai and came back two months later with Sherry and her friends"

"He went to the German Branch of Soul Society right?"

"Yeah", Sherry replied.

"How?"

"I don't know, he knocked us out"

"How long ago was this?"

"About 5 years, give or take" Sakura replied.

"Do you have _zanpakutous_?

"Oh yes we do" Sakura replied.

"Elric too?"

"Yep" she replied

Hitsugaya's mind was surely boggled, but he would go home and think it all through. The more he thought about it, the more questions arose and the more the answers were vague. His head hurt from all the impossibilities he had to accept. One thing was for sure.

They weren't dead.

"How come you remember your past life?" he asked.

"I don't know, doesn't everyone?" Sakura asked.

"If you are really dead, you shouldn't remember your past life"

"So we're not dead?" Sherry exclaimed

"So we could get home, somehow?" Sakura looked up hopefully.

"Possibly, but I doubt it"

"Well, I can't go anywhere, I haven't got a home anymore" Sherry groaned into her arms,

"So we're not really dead" Sakura mumbled.

"I think that will be it for the night now" Hitsugaya groaned and got up, making his way to the door. He picked up his zanpakutou along the way and stepped out into the cool night air.

"You promise right?" Sakura looked up at him.

"I'm a man of my word" he replied. He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, stunning her. Her face flushed a rosy pink before slapping him on the arm.

"Good night" with that, flashed stepped out.

"That's a good thing that he has a thing for you, he'll keep it under his hat"

"Yeah, yeah whatever" Sakura went back inside. "Sherry, why aren't you leaving?" Sakura looked back at her friend curiously.

"Well, I was hoping that I could stay for the night and all because I think Edward and Winry are keen on having the whole apartment to themselves, with me here and Alphonse patrolling the school dormitories. He, he" she grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, all right" Sakura rolled her eyes. "You can have the spare room"

"Thanks"

"By the way, has Ryoma been a good boy?"

"Well… sorta"

* * *

Hitsugaya's phone beeped loudly there were 12 missed calls on his log. His hell moth informed him that he was due to a captains meeting at this hour of the night. On the way, he met Ukitake and Shunsui.

"Hello, there Shirou-_kun_" Ukitake greeted.

"That's Hitsugaya too you" he grunted.

"Well, Hitsugaya-_taichou_, anything interesting happened recently?"

'_Boy, if you knew'_

"Not particularly"

"What about your date"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" Hitsugaya bellowed his cheeks aflame.

"So it is true, Juushirou" Shunsui commented.

"My third seats said they saw you with a pretty pink haired girl at the downtown hotpot restaurant having dinner" Ukitake smiled warmly.

"Urgh" Hitsugaya groaned.

"Did Ami find out?"

Hitsugaya's world flushed down the toilet. For once he wished he could go through a full 24hours without remembering he is cuffed to a fiancé. All of a sudden his ring finger felt uncomfortably tight. He closed his eyes feeling like a prisoner.

"Um, no and I don't care"

"Ok then"

"Before I forget, I want to ask you two a favour"

Ukitake and Shunsui stopped in their tracks and looked at him. "Anything for our little captain"

"Cut it out. I want you two to research something for me if you have time later"

* * *

"Katsuya" a voice called out.

"Hmm?" he was still in his office looking through some documents and paper. He wished he was back at his house, in bed with a beautiful girl, her fully rounded body pressed up against his muscular build beneath him. His lips lightly sucking on the nape of her neck and—

Bah, forget it; it wasn't going to happen tonight. The paperwork was no longer paperwork that documented things about the school. No, he finished them a long time ago.

But it was something else.

"I have received some information from Pein-_san_" Yura glided in and handed him a folder.

"Thankyou Yura" she stood off to the side of his desk.

Katsuya raked a calloused hand through his silver tresses and read carefully, each and every word in the documented. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, his eyes, glinted merrily.

"Well, I'll be damned"

* * *

It was now the dead of night and not a creature was astir. Except for the drunks from the bars. Sakura was finally asleep after counting…a lot of sheep. Her body was completely still, given up by the sheer exhaustion after one might feel after slaughtering a thousand _nins_. Her breathing finally evened put into a rhythmic beat. In, out, in, out, in, out.

"You won't be at peace for long now little cherry blossom. You will soon wilt" the seething voice echoed between the leaves of the trees. The deft figure leapt onto the roof just above Sakura's window. It sat there snarling for just a moment, its long air whipping around in the nights air.

It carefully slinked its way on above the window, unlatched it and disappeared inside. Once it was inside, it rose tall and majestically, the moonlighted revealed itself from the low clouds and casted its glowing light on the pale face of Ami the Vyagon.

She crept closer to the bed, vengeance burning in her red eyes and pulled her lips back to show sharp canines. "It's all you fault; everything was fine before you came along". Closer she crept until she was touching the side the bed. Sakura muttered incoherently in her dreams. Ami wanted to grab her pink hair and smash her head onto her window sill until the thick flesh of her brain oozed in her hand, thick and red. She wanted to mangle her face until it was unrecognisable. But no, she had to torture her slowly before she could do all that.

She lifted her clawed hands, its talons itching to taste fresh meat.

Sakura stirred from the foreign and her brows knitted together to frown.

She was waking up! Ami groaned and slammed her hands down onto Sakura's mouth.

"HHHHHHHHMMMMMMM!!!!" Sakura scream was muffled by the strong hand grasped around her face.

"Now now, I can't have you doing that now. You, little bitch, are going to pay for the trouble you put me through, thinking you can steal Tou-tou away"

Sakura's eyes widened at who it was her hand grappled at the hand squeezing her face, but it didn't budge. This Vyagon was stronger that what she gave credit for.

"Don't think I didn't know about your little date. I saw everything; your little conniving mind needs some dicing!"

Ami, with a shrill, reptilian shriek, released Sakura and brought her other clawed hands onto her exposed face

* * *

**Wah! I didn't get to read the action scene after all. That was the toughest chapter I had ever written. The hardest part was concreting and summarising the shinobi and alchemist past and it was a pain. 80% of what I said was true, because this is supposed be my story and I changed some stuff to fit with the plot. So you'll probably go for example, why isn't Madara in here? And Amestris is destroyed? Well, it's just going to get more complicated. I changed stuff to make it simpler.**

**If you have any questions or doubts in Sherry and Sakura's stories, feel free to email me and I will explain. Seriously there is so much going on and I really need to condense it into 4000 words. (Kinda hard)**

**I will wait for 2 weeks, if there are changes to be made or things to be clearer, I will re update the chapter, but until then, 2 weeks.**

**TripWire- dono**


	13. Deprived Sleep

**Oh my FUCKING GOD! I haven't written in forever! That was because of my half yearlies and I was on holiday for 20 days in Korea and 3 days in Hong Kong. And IT WAS AWESOME! The sight seeing of ancient Korean culture was awesome.**

**I meant it. Let me tell you this, the Korean boys you see on the streets of Seoul are NOTHING like the guys in the Korean Dramas. -_____-". The hot Korean guys in the dramas are 1 in a 1,000,000. (In this case 50 million). For all those girls out there who are planning to go to Korea for the hot Korean boyfriends, give up now, you'll be sorely disappointed. (my mum and sister was…)**

**I guess, I can safely say, "Whatever belongs in dramas, **_**stays**_** in dramas".**

**Thank god, I only came for the REAL Korean food and Korean culture experience. I might wanna go again to master the Art of Eating Kimchi!**

**Moving along, well, it was difficult to write the last chapter and put everything in. I made some mistakes I didn't realise till the middle of the night and I was like 'FUCK!' for example: Akatsuki did die, got killed by Orochimaru and his funky **_**new**_** jutsu. They made a pact with Katsuya just before they died. BUT I shall subtly insert it in before anybody has a bone to pick with me.**

**Action scene coming up! (didn't take me long to write it)  
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_Recap:_

_Sakura's eyes widened at who it was her hand grappled at the hand squeezing her face, but it didn't budge. This Vyagon was stronger that what she gave credit for._

_"Don't think I didn't know about your little date. I saw everything; your little conniving mind needs some dicing!"_

_Ami, with a shrill, reptilian shriek, released Sakura and brought her other clawed hands onto her exposed face_

_

* * *

  
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**Chapter 13: Deprived Sleep**

Sakura dodged by a millimetre. Ami's claws dug into the pillow and she yanked her arms, shredding it to pieces. Sakura took the chance to roll out of bed and crouched onto the floor, before pouncing back from Ami's swipe. She hissed savagely and charged at Sakura again.

Step, step, she grabbed what was left of the pillow and smacked it across Ami's face, soft downy sprinkled everywhere and masked her vision, just enough for Sakura to grab a _kunai_ she spotted laying on the shelf, waiting to be used. All she heard was the constant sneezing of the reptile. She smirked. So the dragon lady is sensitive to Manchester? Awesome.

Sakura held her breath and smirked wider and spun to skilfully throw her kunai through the rain of feather.

"You messed with the wrong girl you know!"

_Whoosh. THUNK!_

It hit solid, bare wall. No stab of the flesh. There was no Ami, nor anything but the snowy mess in her room. Silence was everywhere and yet Sakura tensed up. A shiver ran down her spine and she was immediately on high alert. Her eyes darted this way and that.

She was against the window preventing any escape and her bedroom door was closed tight.

There were no possible exits. _She had to be still in the room_.

Sakura reached behind to closed the window shut, her eyes never leaving the expanse of her room and slid along the wall in the moonlight that filtered through the glass. Her _kunai_ blade glinted as she trekked her way, constantly peeling her senses for the damn lizard, for every breath of hate, every glimmer of loathing, and every essence of _bloodlust_. The damn woman masked her presence so well, she was getting too old for this shit.

'_Great, I'm only 16 and I'm already thinking like a war veteran'_

After a moment, she realised she didn't find that thought amusing at all.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and she cursed herself for not blindly thinking. She thought she was done with this sort of stuff. It all lay in the past and she was so progressing with her new life. At least she thought she was.

'_Once a shinobi, always a shinobi'_

She wanted to retch at the thought, but now was no the time to reminisce.

_Scuff_.

Sakura back flipped and threw her _Kunai_ towards the sound. It landed on bare wall again, right next to her picture frame of her friends. She was getting damn annoyed at this game. She brushed a lock of bubblegum pink hair out of her face and closed her eyes tight and breathed. She needed to sense the aura of this Vyagon.

There were other people in the house. Sherry and her son.

Sakura crouched low and evened out her breathing.

* * *

'_Blindly searching for the predator, are you my little prey?'_

Ami's tongue slithered from her mouth like a python and licked her lips, with excitement. She coiled up her muscles like springs and got ready to pounce. Her eyes were already clicked onto night mode and she could almost taste the anxiety from the bitch and it came to her in waves.

Her claws were itching to dig deep into the bones and pull out the sinew of the meddling woman. Best of all, there was not thing one anybody can do about it.

No one will be here to hear her cries of agony, this was most delicious.

* * *

"Auntie Sherry, did you hear that?"

"Hear what? You're just trying to make an excuse to get out of bed aren't you" Sherry was trying to convince Ryoma that sleeping was the best thing to do at the moment, but the little boy possessed to much youthfulness and energy to close his wide cat eyes. No matter how much scientific proof or evidence to say that sleep was healthy, the boy just woudn't buy it.

But on the contrary, she heard the thunk of knife just clearly.

"Sounds like something hit a wall, I wanna go see" Ryoma leapt out of bed but was caught by Sherry around the waist.

"Not so fast _chibi samurai_. It's like three hours past your bed time and you gotta get some shut eye" Sherry wanted to get some sleep herself, but knowing that this brat is in his bed and snoozing would make her sleep easier.

"No it's not! It's only been 20 minutes!" Ryoma struggled in her grip and Sherry pulled out his blankets and plonked him in again.

"Is that so? All the more better, so you can wake up early and maybe _okaa-san_ will make you a yummy breakfast" Sherry gave him a twinkling smile.

"Yeah and Auntie Sherry will stuff her face with the food o_kaa-san_ made for me instead and grow fat like a hag" Ryoma crossed his arms and cackled mischieviously.

"_Wenig_ _arschgesicht…" _her hands were poised to strangle the poor fellow. **(T/W: German: You little dick-face…)**

_THUNK!_

Her whole demeanour changed and her arms dropped by her side. Ryoma stopped cackling and watched as Auntie Sherry's eyes glaze over eerily and her nose sniffed the air.

"I smell, some fresh specimen…"

"Wha-" Sherry snapped back to her chipper self "HEY! Do you know what my mum used to do to get me to sleep?"

"Huh-" Ryoma was picked up roughly. "She used to wrap me up like a caterpillar and pretend I was in a cocoon!"

She wrapped Ryoma with his blanket with tight, neat tucks until he looked like a fat, chubby spring roll.

"Hey I can't move!" Ryoma spasmed on the bed, desperate to undo the sheets.

"Stay put" Her voice was almost monotone.

She locked the door behind her and pulled out a hand glove and slipped her hands into it. She snapped her finger and the metal decoration of the door frame _welded_ shut, not a space left upon for a bacteria to get through. Ryoma was locked in his room.

"I smell lizards blood…" Sherry dashed down the lit hallway and leapt into the air and kicked down Sakura's bedroom door. Light bathed the room.

* * *

Sakura gasped as she was temporarily blinded by yellow light and her ears snapped at Sherry's voice.

"Sakura! Above you"

She looked up and there claws grappled into the ceiling right above her was Ami, like a bat. Sakura swore she saw purple scales invading her face! She was frozen stiff at the image of horror, eyes blazing with slit pupils, she couldn't tear her eyes away, and she couldn't move a muscle.

To Sherry, it was like slow motion, Ami unlatched her claws, and with a flurry of kimono, like a bomb, she was about to drop on the immobile Sakura. She could only think of one thing.

Sherry jumped and gave a spinning side kick to Sakura's chest, she flew across the room and smashed her back onto the bed. Sakura's head snapped to the worst headache as soon she was no longer staring at Ami's hypnotic eyes. Instead she saw Sherry wrestling underneath the Vyagon in a savage match of brute strength.

"You messed in the wrong bitch you cunt!" Sherry spoke through gritted teeth.

Her arm was holding Ami's scaled hand at bay and in turn Ami's had her other pinned on her shoulder, blood seeping into her teacher's uniform.

"Oh, you want to die that badly as well, do you foreigner! Along with the pink one is fine with me, but the minute you interfered with my _midnight supper_, your fate was sealed."

Sherry kneed her in the stomach and flipped her around until she was straddling her back with her arm twisted roughly behind her back.

"I'll take on whatever you _dish out_"

Ami scoffed at the amateur pun.

"I like my meat with their blood boiling, but nasty tasting foreigners like you will have to do" She scorpion kicked Sherry to the back of her neck. The alchemist gasped in pain and her grip loosened and Ami took the chanced to contort her body around and grabbed her throat again.

Struggling to inhale some air into her system, Sherry found enough energy to spit out "Then eat this!"

She snapped her gloved fingers in her face and Ami gave an agonised shrill as her mouth exploded with sparks and fire.

"Sakura! Now!"

"ARGHHH!" Sakura jumped out of the shadows with lightning speed and stabbed her in the back with the _kunais_ she yanked from the wall. Ami wailed and dropped Sherry to swipe Sakura across the stomach. Sakura smelt the tinge of Vyagon poison at the end of the claws and blessed her lucky stars she dodged it in time.

Ami, with inhuman flexibility reached around her back and with a sickening squelch, pulled out the kunai and threw it on the wooden floor.

Only one kunai.

Her kimono was wrapped around her body in tatters and the Sakura could see the blood dripping on the floor from behind

"You tried '_gasp, gasp' _to harm me with '_cough, wheeze' _a tiny knife?" Ami coughed out huge amounts of blood from her mouth and her throat was dotted with incinerated holes. It gushed out and it seemed like the Vyagon had _plenty_ of blood to spare. She wasn't just a Vyagon, she was a monster.

Sakura smirked "That little knife had a little friend with it"

"Huh?"

It was already too late. Before Ami could comprehend what had happened, any form of lighting in the house had shut down and even the lights of other houses shut down until the whole neighbourhood was drowned in darkness and the moon was covered by the heavy clouds

Ami gave a strangled gasp as her body was jolted with folds and folds of pain. Intense light flooded the room from her and Sakura shielded her eyes from the glare

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!

Her fleshed crackled with intense heat and pain, like many needle stabs, aiming for the centre of every nerve. She could barely breathe and jolts and horrendous impulses rack her body. Sakura watched mercilessly as Ami spasmed and rocked from the electricity that wrapped around her writhing form until she collapsed.

Sakura felt her eyes go blind at the disappearance of the great light from the burning electricity which had engulfed Ami. The moon was steadily being reveal by the clouds to bathe the room in serene moonlight again.

Sakura began to grow weary.

'_I really am getting too old for this shit'_.

Sakura thudded onto the floor and the last thing she saw in the moonlight was no only Ami's sizzling body but with the second _kunai _still imbedded in her back, smoking from completing its mission of conducting electricity, but also:

Sherry, slumped against the wall, battered and bruised quirking a triumphant smile. As Sakura's eyes trailed down her length she also caught a glimpse at the Elric's finger covered in blood poised on the finishing touches of a small transmutation circle scrawled in her own blood.

* * *

_Ring, ring ring ring. Click_.

"_Mendokusai… moshi-moshi…"_

"Shikamaru, we need you to get to Sakura's house on the double, I've already sent Naruto, Edward and Neji there"

"Wha? Yura-_sensei_, what's going on?" Shikamaru, not feeling to lazy anymore, rolled out of bed and tugged on his pants, attention on what Yura had to say.

"_Sakura, Sherry and Ryoma was paid a little visit from the Vyagon tonight_ _and we assume there's going to be trouble and I don't think Sherry and Sakura can clean up their mess_"

"Ah, say no more, say no more" Shikamaru strapped on his shoes and grabbed his _zanpakutou_ and proceeded to get the move one.

"How did you know?"

"… _I got a call from the son, Ryoma_"

Shikamaru chuckled "So the little _gaki _has brains after all"

"_Hurry!"_

"On my way"

_Click._

_

* * *

  
_

"Shikamaru, you came too" said Naruto.

"Un, c'mon" Shikamaru did a head count: Neji, Naruto, Edward and himself.

The four dashed across the neighbourhood, jumping from roof to roof towards their destination. The closer they got, they saw little figures of _shinigami_s dotting the streets, with their zanpakutous drawn out.

"Looks like _someone else's_ reinforcements had arrived" said Edward. They jumped onto the cobbled road and started to approach the line of _shinigamis_.

"Halt! Who goes there?" one platoon leader informed.

"We need to get to someone's house, please let us through" Said Shikamaru.

"We are under orders to not allow anyone to go beyond this point, so please turn away and leave" the _shinigami_ said.

Shikamaru sighed "Under whose orders?"

A deep rough voice emerged through the air.

"Under the orders of _shichibantai taichou, Komamura Saijin"_ Big man himself, stepped from the shadows and bared his gigantic presence to the newly arrived teachers of the academy.

"Whoops, I should've told Hinata-chan that I won't be home till a while" Naruto cracked his knuckles.

"We all should've" Shikamaru stamped out his cigarette.

"Is this a challenge?" Iba, the _fukutaichou_ yelled incredulously, he's always with his captain no matter what.

"You bet it is" Edward smirked.

* * *

Pages, after pages.

Books, after books,

Shelf, after shelf!

Hitsugaya was just about to acknowledge his defeat. There was nothing here. Not one sliver of information he wanted within the books of the Seireitei Archive. He furrowed his brows and buried his head in another.

According to all the books he absorbed, he knew a lot about '_Stock Market Crisis of Seireitei_' (that's about the most interesting book he read in this ancient library) but there was absolutely NOTHING about the other branches of Soul Society, let alone things about _shinobis_ and alchemists. He figured, researching about something related to Soul Society would be easier first, but he quickly changed his mind.

These weird teachers were so elusive and their answers were too vague, he just had to get to the bottom of this, no matter what!

Hitsugaya groaned.

"Got a dead end there Hitsugaya- _taichou_?" Ukitake popped his head around the corner. Hitsugaya wanted to bang his head.

"Yeah, it's not here"

"I had already swept the whole right wing of the library and nothing that's relevant to what you said is there either" Shunsui 's straw sandals scoffed the tiled floor towards Hitsugaya and Ukitake.

"You read all the books on the _right wing_ in three hours?" Hitsugaya said incredulously.

"No. I just skimmed. I've researched in this library many times over and I basically, know where everything is" said Shunsui.

"Perhaps, if you told us _why_ you are researching about all these 'branches' of Soul Society, then we this whole thing would be easier" Ukitake knitted his brows.

Hitsugaya sighed "I'm sorry, It's for a… friend and I promised to keep it a secret" said Hitsugaya.

"O…k?" Shunsui whistled. "Toushirou- _kun_, we had been here for _hours_ and we had not found anything that's close to what you are looking for and believe me, Juushirou and I have been her many times, and had we never come across anything like this"

Hitsugaya scowled at them.

"Ne, ne, maybe if we asked Kurotsuchi-_ taichou_, maybe he will find some information for us" Ukitake tried to lift Hitsugaya's mood.

"That sounds like a splendid, idea Juushirou! Then Shirou-chan here will realise that there is no such thing as a 'branch' of Soul Society and he will move on with his life with-"

"DON'T you dare finish that sentence…" Hitsugaya shot Shunsui a glare.

"Hai, hai, lets go"

* * *

The three captains arrived at the 12th division and alerted the guard there of their business to see Kurotsuchi. They passed through some dinky laboratories until they came upon the main office. It looked the same as they had remembered and they were always shivered at the sight of the many computers and electrical gadgets that were created for who knows what.

Right in the centre, hunched over a bizarre keyboard was the captain mumbling incoherently but they could tell, he was swearing.

"What do you want!" he boomed. His head never left the keyboard.

"We came to ask you a favour" said Hitsugaya.

"Favour? You know you must do something in return for me right?" Kurotsuchi got up and stalked over to another computer and sat down, flipping switches that made squeaking sounds.

Hitsugaya, Shunsui and Ukitake noticed that his _fuku-taichou_ and his other subordinates were no where to be seen.

"Ne, where's Nemu _chan_, Kurotsuchi taichou?" said Shunsui.

"She's in the repair shop, I'm fixing her"

"…"

"What favour do you want? Speak now, or get out, I'm very busy" Kurotsuchi growled.

"We need you to hack into the Seireitei's Central 46 Secret archives" said Hitsugaya.

Kurotsuchi, for the first time that night slowly turned on his chair to face the three captains and gave an insane smile, like a wicked child who was planning on setting fireworks in his mother's kitchen. The shadows created by the flashing screens only made him look more maddening.

"Hack into _those_ archives, eh? That should be fun" Kurotsuchi, changed operating systems of his computers and pulled out another set of keyboards and clicked it onto the other.

Hitsugaya approached him from behind to see, what he was doing.

"May I ask, what our _chibi_ _taichou_ is looking for, to ask my assistance" Kurotsuchi's words, dripped with poisonous excitement.

"Type in the key words, _'Seireitei' _and _'branch' _as a collective word" said Hitsugaya.

Kurotsuchi did just that. He clicked enter and the screen blared red. Shunsui and Ukitake stepped forward to see its progress.

Little blue bars appear and disappeared and numbers rolled up at frightening speeds indicating searched items:

10

1000

10000

100000

Unfortunately, matched results remained '0'.

Hitsugaya sighed.

"Well, I guess there is absolutely nothing then" Shunsui yawned "Hitsugaya-_taichou_, maybe you should go to sleep now and when you rise bright and early and then realise this 'friend' of yours is pulling your leg".

"Shut up"

"Shunsui! Hitsugaya-_taichou_ had taken a lot of courage to ask us to assist him in researching and the least we can do is stick by him until the end" Ukitake frowned.

"But, weren't you the one who said-"

"Wait, look" Hitsugaya's brow arched at not the searched items rolling in the millions but at the other number.

'_Matched results: 1'_

The two shutted their mouths.

'_Matched results: 3'_

Seconds passed

'_Matched results: 6'_

More seconds passed

'_Matched results: 12'_

The searched ended. The number twelve blinked at them, meaning there are 12 documents with both those keywords.

"Well, what do you know? The matched result number is the same as my division, fufufufufufufu…" Kurotsuchi chuckled.

"Click on the first one"

Kurotsuchi grumbled about kids giving orders and how incongruent that was but clicked anyway.

'_Document is no longer available'_

Ukitake and Shunsui let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Hitsugaya screwed his eyebrows again.

Kurotsuchi was beginning to be interest in this affair and he too was curious to know what the prodigy captain was searching for.

"The second one"

Kurotsuchi did so and all the other documents that contained the key words too.

Unfortunately, they all said _'Document no longer available', _How suspicious and interesting were the 12th division captains thoughts.

"What does it mean 'no longer available'?" asked Ukitake.

"Just that, _juusanbantai taichou_, it's no longer available" Kurotsuchi scowled at the sickly captain's ridiculous question.

"No, I mean, _why_ is it no longer available?" Ukitake brushed off the man's sneer.

"Well, that could mean, Central 46 erased it from their archives or someone has hacked in and stolen it" Kurotsuchi crossed his arms.

"Stolen or erased eh?" Shunsui whistled

"Well, Hitsugaya-_taichou_, your research really is futile" Kurotsuchi smirked at him.

"No it isn't"

"Hm?"

"Now we know for sure that such information at one point _did_ exist in Soul Society and that concludes there are such things as 'Branches of Soul Society'"

"Well, if it was erased, there's nothing we can do about it" Shunsui sighed. "If it _was _erased, why would Central 46 erase it? Would that piece of information be dangerous to us?"

"And if someone had stolen it…" Juushirou's words died.

Hitsugaya crossed his arms into his sleeves, and his eyes blazed to life.

"Indeed, who had stolen it?"

* * *

"Katsuya, Pein is waiting for a response" Yura glided into his office.

"Hold on" Katsuya blew into his tissue "Wow, I haven't had a dust allergy, in… _forever"_

"That's because you _never had_ dust allergies"

"Wow, Yura, my dear, you know a lot more about me than I do" Katsuya beamed.

"Whatever, your response?"

"Tell him to continue his observations and have Sasori _san_ plant a puppet with a recording device into _his_ lair disguised as a subordinate. And send me the tape once it records some juicy information"

Yura finished scribing once Katsuya finished his last word. "Are you sure, it's a good idea?"

"_Very"_.

"Ok then, I'll send this immediately"

"Wait Yura" Yura turned back towards him "Has Shikamaru and his team cleaned up the _mess_ in Sakura's home yet"

"Not yet, I went to check up earlier because they didn't return soon enough and sensed some flares of _reiatsu_, so I guess they are having a fight and I decided not to interrupt"

"That's unlike you to leave them"

'_That's because I have to take care of a juvenile man' _Yura scoffed in her head.

"Any flares of _chakra_?_"_

"None"

"Good then"

"Good night Katsuya"

"Sweet dreams"

Katsuya leaned back into his chair and swivelled it around. He stared longingly towards the direction of the heart of Seireitei, the 1st Division headquarters. He rotated back and picked up the novel he was reading: _Icha Icha Paradise Deluxe Volume_.

* * *

**And I have finished off this chapter. Now I'm going to fail my chemistry exam for the half yearly because I cut my study time to take out this chapter.**

'_**bangs head'**_

**Anyway, like I said, I'm back from fantastic Korea, we had a 3 day stop in Hong Kong and I could've died from the pollution. It seems like the people of Hong Kong have never seen blue sky with all the smog. But the tour to Lan Tau Island was superb, it's so fun! But I wouldn't want to live there…**

**The funny thing was, on the Korean tour, our guide was like "80% of Korea is mountainous, so there aren't that many places to build towns and cities, that's why we are so crowded. See that mountain there? On the other side is North Korea"**

**O_O"**

"**So a MiG-35 to here is like 30 seconds"he said.**

**I'm alive and well ^-^"**

**BTW, Sherry was swearing in German in the first part of the chapter, she was basically calling Ryoma a little dick-face or something like that…**

**Anyway, don't forget to read and review my pretties. Sorry I've been gone a while, but I want to let you know, I will FINISH THIS TO THE VERY END OF THE 3****RD**** INSTALMENT OF THIS TRILOGY.**

**Now I'm gonna eat my Korea chocolate that costed 700 won ^w^**

**Over and out  
**

**TripWire- dono**


	14. Thesis on this story

**THESIS on the Revolution Trilogy PART 1**

I have realised through a reviewer that the majority of the readers of this story is awfully confused with my story. It was being much too vague. Since I'm always really critical of my writing (you have to be otherwise you will never improve) I know I need to be consistent in word economy, create distinctive voices, language use, grammar (no shit), written expression and most importantly, conveying my ideas/issues/story whatever, concisely, succinctly and coherently, through a chaptered story.

I'm really trying to improve on that, practice makes perfect.

I have to understand that readers can't read minds, they can't possibly know everything that's in my head and that I expect them to understand my writing. No that's wrong and I apologise for it.

* * *

Another thing, I have obviously found some faults in this instalment of the trilogy but never the less, I will continue to the very end of the Trilogy. I have a lot at stake for this story (mostly my sanity) and my faith in it.

One thing, I'm not ever going to write the fight scene between Team Shikamaru and the 7th division on Sakura's neighbourhood, because I want to express how deep the threat the past Shinobis and alchemist had on Soul Society (the threat is mind boggling, unfathomable).

**(Spoiler)** Iba and Komamura couldn't even describe the fight with team Shikamaru properly to Soutaichou when reporting in because they were shell shocked at the past Shinobi's and alchemist abilities and can't express their anxieties and fear at a new threat **(end spoiler- I'm gonna cry...)**

More importantly, the shinobis and alchemist seem to be taking orders from Katsuya...

There was this fight scene i read from Mathew Riley's novel that was really good. I should read it again to get the idea of structure and language use eh?

The vague part is the big problem, once again I must work on conveying the idea through the form of fanfiction BETTER!

What most of my fanfic is conveying is the idea that because Soul Society is at the stage where they have just finished rebuilding themselves from the Soul Society Arc (assuming all those random filler arcs never happened). They probably can't bear the thought of being almost destroyed again.

That's why I'm going to portray the Soutaichou has someone who is slowly going mad. He took the Soul Society Arc pretty hard (despite looking calm and cool) in my story so he has gone paranoid. We all know that intelligent people who are going mad DO NOT REALISE that they are going mad. They believe in the reason of their own mind and this makes them more dangerous. They begin to make rash decisions and bad judgement but they perceive they are right and become arrogant.

I'm being psychoanalytic here

Eg: Wanting Hitsugaya to mate with Ami the Vyagon to have super human babies that he will personally train as soldiers with no emotions and refine them to be perfect killing machines to go against Aizen. Aizen is still in hiding in Hueco Mundo... what is he upto?

How twisted and gross is that? HOWEVER Soutaichou is able to justify that... somehow

Slowly Soutaichou will become another threat to his very own people.

They are at a time where they _**think**_ they have peace and order all under control and perfect and normal but really lying beneath that...

* * *

When you have a powerful civilisation such as Seiretei or Soul Society, the biggest fear an Empire can have is being invaded by something else, being conquered by something more powerful and then fall. Here Soul Society is about to experience both. Not only both, but this threat is about to attack them from _**THE VERY CORE OF THEIR GOVERNMENT.**_

Seireitei is built upon Shinigami's to work and operate. That's how you have a functioning nation. Without them, you can't a working society. You get these trained and educated shinigami's from the respectable institutions of the Academy.

Katsuya and the Shinobis and alchemist currently run this institution... As long they remain there acting as the 'good guys' they will remain safe.

As they say, keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer...

Having this threat as (maybe) the shinobis and alchemist, something Soul society have no information on, the threat is pretty much invisible. It is something Seireitei have never seen in their life, a powerful entity that can't be measured.

* * *

The basis of my story concludes to this:

What you can't see, you don't understand  
What you don't understand, you can't control  
What you can't control, you fear  
What you fear, you must destroy it.

I'm using Soul Society and the Shinobi and alchemist's as a vehicle for this horrific idea that all civilisations face.

* * *

THEN I have the added romance of Hitsugaya and Sakura. What's a story without romance eh? Hitsugaya is a decent person. He must choose, the loyalty to his government or to his love Sakura.

Hitsugaya has a couple of choices

**1)** try and understand Sakura and accept who she is and build their relationship. Hopefully convince the two parties (soutaichou and the shinobis and alchemist) to have a diplomatic resolution.

**2)** Refuse to listen to her and eliminate her because she is too dangerous and threatens Seireitei and that their love will never work out. Nation comes first, love comes second.

It looks like a REALLY complicated love story.

So really, people like Hitsugaya and Sakura are victims of large scale political chaos.

* * *

It is the readers choice whether they perceive _**Team Naruto and FMA**_ are the bad or good guys or _**Team Bleach **_is the good guys or bad guys.

There is another type of dilemma I'm exploring here. It's between Katsuya and Matsumoto (yes, there is romance between them). It is similar to HitsuSaku complex only worse.

Katsuya is the leader of the threat. Matsumoto is on the otherside.

Matsumoto must choose whether to understand and love him or go against him for her nation.

Katsuya must choose whether to pursue Matsumoto as his love or eliminate her because she is in the ways of his plans.

Katsuya is the one that bears the entire burden for his people and decisions of his people. He must choose wisely.

Yura and Byakuya are in a similar predicament but a smaller scale.

Currently, it is Hitsugaya, Ukitake and Shunsui's mission to uncover the secrets to the Shinobi's and Alchemist and Katsuya's hidden intention. If they are lucky and dig in the right spot, they might uncover an ugly truth about their own government that is hidden by Soutaichou and Central 46.

Ami: well, she is the catalyst in the story. You gotta have at least one.

This is a mini thesis of my story; I hope this will help you readers out there in understanding this story a little better without ruining the storyline.

For those who want to continue reading, thanks for your support and for those who no longer want to read with me, well, I hope to see you soon! XD

I'm sorry it's a little long. I hope you weren't bored with my mini thesis

TripWire- dono


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